


I'm not in love

by Aleko



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Bad Flirting, Character Death, Chatting & Messaging, Christmas, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Gun Violence, Implied Sexual Content, Kidnapping, M/M, Mentions of drugs, Murder, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexuality Crisis, Slow Burn, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2019-05-04 22:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14602647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aleko/pseuds/Aleko
Summary: This fic is based on Infinity War and some of its events but changed to make them fit in a College Au.Peter hated Thor since he knocked him down on a rainy night. He obviously felt sorry about what had happened to the man's brother, but he couldn't help it. He didn't understand why his friends seemed to love the tall, not-that-handsome, stupid blonde, until he did. And when he did, he felt his world shattering onto pieces once again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for clicking!  
> I loved this ship since I saw Infinity War and I have read the fics here and I had to contribute.  
> I warned it on the summary, but I'll repeat myself: this contains Infinity War spoilers!  
> And sorry if there is slightly OOC, and if my English isn't the best, I'll try to improve.  
> Well, I hope you like this first chapter and tell me what you think about it!

  


The rain poured down heavily on Peter’s car. He groaned; he could hardly see anything on the road even if the lamps on the streets gave enough light. He was tired and he wanted to go home. No one was on the streets this late at night and the rain made it worse.  
  
“God, we’re on August. How can it be raining so much?” He complained as he stopped at a red traffic light. Drax, by his side, shrugged as he looked outside.  
  
“It’s the 28th, and it rains whenever, Peter.” Gamora, on one of the backseats, explained while moving her head slightly at the catchy tune on the radio. Even if it was one of Peter’s favorite’s songs, it didn’t relax him.  
  
He just sighed and continued their way to drop Gamora at her apartment when the light turned green. He squinted through the droplets, he was getting really frustrated thinking about the way back to the house he was sharing with Drax and Mantis.  
  
He turned to the left when something suddenly came into his car. Yelping, Peter tried but couldn’t stop quickly enough and on one second the stranger was on the front window and the other he had disappeared. A loud thump followed by a splash of something falling to the road and a loud gasp from Mantis was heard.  
  
“What the fuck, Quill!?” Gamora shouted at him while opening the door. Peter saw Drax in front of the car. He somehow had been able to get out of the car when Peter was still in shock, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water.  
  
“Holy shit! They ran to the car! I couldn’t help it!” He ran a hand through his hair, nervous.  
  
“He’s alive!” Drax shouted as he was lifting the unconscious man. “But he is injured!”  
  
“We have to get him to the hospital!” Mantis said opening the door of the back seats again, a really concerned expression on her face.  
  
“Wait, what?” Peter stuttered incredulous. Gamora was outside helping Drax to get the man on the car. “But what if he’s dangerous?”  
  
“We can’t leave him on the road, he’s unconscious. You knocked him down so you are going to take him to the hospital.” Gamora looked dead him in the eyes so he shut his mouth up and waited for everyone to be in the car. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him. He started driving again, but with another destination on his head. He turned down the volume of the radio so low it was barely perceptible.  
  
“This man is incredibly beautiful.” Drax said looking back at the stranger and Peter felt himself chocking out of surprise.  
  
“He’s really strong, look at those muscles.” Peter checked how Gamora was touching the man’s biceps through the rear mirror and felt a spark of jealousy inside him. Oh, great, another thing to bug him in this amazing night.  
  
“Stop touching his muscles and wake him up already!” He said in a nervous voice. Gamora rolled her eyes.  
  
Peter rearranged his grip on the steering wheel and tried to focus on the road but couldn’t help but glance to the back constantly. Who the fuck was that man?  
  
“Oh god, he’s bleeding from the cut on his eyebrow.” Mantis muttered and pressed a tissue on his head.  
  
Peter saw Gamora shaking him trying to wake him up, which did work. The stranger opened his eyes and jumped in the seats, shouting. Peter swerved scared by the sudden outburst but managed to stay in the road. The man started moving frantically, trying to get away from the girls and his eyes were filled by frighten. Gamora and Mantis seemed scared too by the overreaction and tried to grab him to calm him down.  
  
“Who are you!? Where…?” The man’s voice was anxious.  
  
“Calm down, dude, we knocked you down on the road; I’m driving you to the hospital.” Peter’s words seemed to ease the man a bit before he went stiff right away.  
  
“My brother… Have you seen my brother?!” He started looking to everyone in the car and when he didn’t recognized anyone as his brother he started to look outside. “He… He is…”  
  
“Calm down, you were the only one out in the rain.” Mantis said gently, touching the stranger’s shoulder to ground him on reality.  
  
“My… My brother is… That man killed him.” The man went stiff once more and stopped moving to just bury his face on his hands.  
  
Everyone just went dead silent, the only sound coming from the radio and the falling from the rain. Peter gulped and pressed the gas pedal a bit harder.  
  
“What do you mean?” He dared to ask after a few seconds that felt like hours.  
  
“We were going to take the bus and then… a man came to us and… Oh, God.”  
  
“We have to call the police.” Gamora muttered softly while picking her phone. “I’ll tell them we are driving you to the hospital.”  
  
The man lifted his face to her and shook his head.  
  
“Thank you, but I’d rather call them myself later, on the hospital.” Peter could appreciate his face better now. He had short hair and a bit of beard and he seemed like a nice person. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.” The man smiled an awkward and forced smile at Gamora. Peter frowned, but he said nothing.  
  
They were near the hospital, so they arrived in less than five minutes and the stranger left the car with a thank you and a goodbye. Peter rubbed his tired eyes before taking the road again. At least the rain had subsided a bit.  
  
“He’s like the son of an angel and a pirate, right?” Drax said after a few seconds on silence.  
  
“I can’t believe you just said that.” Peter mumbled. “My car is now wet thanks to all of you and him.”  
  
“Are you jealous of him, Peter?” Gamora cocked an eyebrow and smiled with mockery.  
  
“Me? I’m objectively better than him in every aspect.” He felt offended, they have met the guy for ten minutes and they prefer a stranger over him?!  
  
“In every aspect except the kindness, the natural beauty, the muscles… ” Drax started to list nearly every single human aspect as a list. “… the voice, th-”  
  
“What’s wrong with my voice?” He touched his throat unconsciously.  
  
“Nothing. That man just had a deeper voice, actually nice to hear.” Drax explained as it was obvious. Mantis giggled and Gamora rolled her eyes once again.  
  
“I have to disagree with that.” He tried to deepen his voice. He could have an awesome voice too. “It wasn’t nice to hear his voice. The only thing more annoying than his voice is yours, Drax.”  
  
Mantis and Gamora burst in laughter and Peter felt a blush out of shame creeping to his face.  
  
“What the fuck is that funny?” He kept his voice lower, only to receive more laughs, this time Drax joining them.  
  
“Are you trying to sound manly, really?” Gamora hardly said between her fits of laughter.  
  
“This is how my voice sounds always. I don’t know what you mean.” He tried to regain his pride but his red face didn’t really help.  
  
“Peter, trust me when I say this, you’ll never be as manly as that man. He is like a god.” Peter huffed but didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t bury himself even deeper in the hole he already was in, metaphorically talking. He decided the conversation was over and turned up the music once again.  
  
…  
  
After getting out of the car and thanking the bunch of the strangers that had been kind enough to carry him to the hospital, he picked his phone and dialed the number of his police friend.  
  
“Hello, Thor? Why are you calling this late at night?” The voice on the other side of the line asked.  
  
“Hello, Steve. I’m sorry it’s late but…” He waited for a second. “It’s my brother…”  
  
“God, what has he done this time?” Steve sounded really irritated. Thor gulped.  
  
“He’s dead. I mean, we were attacked at the bus stop and someone killed him.”  
  
“What?!” The sudden shout from the phone made Thor grimace.  
  
“He tried to go after me but Loki stood for me and saved me.” Thor muttered. “I’m at a hospital. When I ran away someone knocked me down and they helped me get here.”  
  
“Are you safe?”  
  
“I think so. I broke the skin on my eyebrow but I don’t know how that happened.” Thor shrugged even if Steve couldn’t see him.  
  
“Send me your location and I’ll be there immediately. Send me also the location of the bus stop, I’ll send some police there.” Thor heard shuffling coming from the phone, he supposed Steve was getting ready. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m sorry, Thor.”  
  
The call ended and he got inside the hospital, then sat somewhere near the entrance. There, he could feel the real weight of what had happened sinking in him. He buried his face on his hands. He wasn’t able to protect his brother and because of that he had lost his last family.  
  
…  
  
When Peter was finally on his warm, comfy bed listening to his songs, he thought of the stranger and how everyone seemed to love him and praised him. He felt pissed off. He was better; his friends should love him, not some stranger.  
  
“Good thing I’m never going to see his face ever again.”  
  
…  
  
But Peter couldn’t believe his eyes when, two weeks later, on the first day of the school year, he saw the face of that stranger on the campus. And he couldn’t believe his ears when he heard Drax calling him from where they were. And he couldn’t believe his eyes again when said man turned with the biggest smile he had ever seen and waved his arm to them as he approached. What a lucky man Peter was.  
  
“You were the ones who helped me, right?” The man asked when he was by them. “I want to thank you all once again.”  
  
Peter mumbled some insults under his breath as Gamora welcomed him.  
  
“It was the minimum we could do. Oh, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet, right?” She had the gentle smile she always wore when she was with her friends. But, Peter thought, that man wasn’t a friend.  
  
“You’re right. My name is Thor Odinson, and you are?” He offered his hand for a handshake, but Peter talked before anyone could shake it.  
  
“Are you serious? Thor? Like the Nordic god?” Peter scoffed at him. “Are you kidding us?”  
  
Thor’s face went from happy, to surprised and finally settled on a frown. He retrieved his unshaken hand. Peter felt a smirk growing on his face.  
  
“Excuse me, that’s my name. Yes, it’s the same as the god but it was the one my parents gave me. Do you have any problem?” When Thor raised one eyebrow, expectant, Peter noticed the cut on his other eyebrow which had some stitches on, waiting to heal.  
  
“Oh yeah, I have a lot of problems, starting with-”  
  
“Don’t mind him.” Gamora interrupted him and Peter looked at her with disbelief. “We don’t have any problems with your name, I actually like it.” Peter gasped at this, Gamora was a traitor. His heart would never recover from this. “My name is Gamora, and these are Drax and Mantis.” Mantis waved at him with a smile and Drax offered his hand and Thor shook it with a smile. “And this is Peter Quill.”  
  
After a brief staring, Thor tried to be kind again and smiled at him. “Nice to meet you all, Gamora, Drax, Mantis and Peter.”  
  
Peter crossed his arms and looked at him. “You can’t call me Peter. You call me Quill.” He felt the gazes of his friends in him, judging him. “You can’t call me by my name, we’re not friends.” Thor’s eyes stayed fixed on his eyes for some heavy seconds. Peter was sure Thor was assessing him, wondering if he really was worth the effort. The smiled had disappeared once again.  
  
“Of course, Quill.” He turned to the others and smiled warmly. “Thank you again for all the trouble. I’ve got to go now; I hope I’ll see you around.”  
  
Sparing one quick last glance to Peter, he waved them goodbye and turned to attend his classes. Peter fulminated Thor’s back with his stare, watching him go. He was really stupidly kind; he hoped he would not see him around.  
  
“Peter, what’s your problem?” Gamora asked him when Thor had disappeared.  
  
“No, what’s your problem? Why are you being so nice to him?” Peter gesticulated to the way the other had gone. “He’s an asshole, why can’t you see it?”  
  
“He seems very nice, Peter.” Mantis muttered quietly and dropped his gaze to the ground when Peter turned at her surprised.  
  
“He’s been a gentleman.” Drax confirmed and crossed his arms. “And you’ve been a brat.”  
  
“What?!” Peter huffed and started to move his hands as trying to explain something but no coherent words left his mouth. “It’s not… I’m!... Fuck, you…”  
  
“Stop this jealousy attack and let’s go to class, Peter.” Gamora stated simply and started walking. “See you after class!” And she left in front of the dumbfounded face of Peter.  
  
“Yes, we’re going to run late if we don’t hurry.” Mantis agreed and followed Gamora with a smile.  
  
“See you later, Peter.” After Drax getting away too, Peter was left alone and fuming. What a shitty bunch of friends he had.  
  
He headed towards the first class of the semester and searched for the classroom, and when he found it he realized two things: it was really far from where his friends were taking their classes, and Thor was on the same hallway as his classroom. When he saw his face, he couldn’t help but sigh in annoyance and act like he hadn’t seen him; nevertheless, he could feel the other man looking at him with a stoic face. He got inside of the classroom as soon as he could.  
  
And Peter knew luck was not on his side when he went to the cafeteria on his break after three hours of classes and saw his group of friends sitting down with some strangers and fucking Thor. ‘How had he arrived there before him?’ Peter asked himself, but the laughs coming from that table waked him up from his thoughts. With a frown, he saw the only free seat was by Drax and in front of Thor. He groaned as he approached.  
  
“Is this place taken?” He asked before sitting without waiting any response, and everyone shut up. “What?” He felt the whole table staring at him.  
  
“Thor, is this one of your new friends?” A man by him said. His face was familiar to him, maybe he was an intern. Thor drowned a sarcastic laugh.  
  
“His name is Peter Quill. Quill, these are my friends. Bruce, Natasha and Clint.” Thor pointed at the people on the table as he introduced them. So, Bruce was the one next to Thor, Natasha was the girl next to Bruce and Clint was the one sitting at the other end of the table.  
  
“Nice to meet you, Peter.” Natasha said with a reserved smile. Thor was getting ready to say something when Peter interrupted him.  
  
“Nice to meet you too, guys.” Peter smiled at them and glanced sideways at Thor, who seemed displeased. His friends could call Peter by his name but he couldn’t? What did he do to the man to earn his hate?  
  
Thor tried to ignore all the daring stares Peter threw his way and focused on the nice chat that the others were having.  
  
“Yes, I noticed how strong Thor looks.” Drax complimented him and Thor smiled. How people so nice could be friends with Quill? “Why is it?”  
  
“It’s just that I like to play sports.” He answered with a smile.  
  
“Well, he’s not the only one who’s strong.” Thor was surprised by Peter when he said this. He looked at him and he didn’t seem weak, but he was sure he could win in a wrestle.  
  
“Peter, you’re one sandwich from being fat.” Gamora joked with a grin and Thor saw how red Peter became in a matter of seconds. That was endearing, he couldn’t help but smile at that.  
  
“That’s not true!” He tried to defend himself, clearly flustered. “And… I meant Drax, yeah! That’s it, I meant Drax.” He patted his friend’s shoulder as to clarify his point.  
  
“Hey if you want we could arm wrestle to see how strong you are.” Thor offered, obviously not buying the excuse he made.  
  
“I’d like to see that.” Clint sneered amused and Natasha punched him softly on his side.  
  
“You don’t have to if you don’t want, Peter. Thor is really strong.” Bruce warned him but that only fueled the fire on Peter’s eyes. How funny.  
  
“Of course I don’t have to, but I’m going to.” When Peter rolled up the sleeves of his jacket and Thor did the same it was beyond of obvious who would win. “I’ll make you beg for mercy.”  
  
“We’ll see.” Thor chuckled and they clasped their hands together.  
  
Drax started to count down from 5 and Thor stared firmly into Peter’s eyes. He could see he was passionate. When the countdown finished he was startled of Peter’s strength for a second but he recovered quickly.  
  
“You’re not bad.” Thor muttered. He wasn’t giving it full, but Peter was strong.  
  
“Of course I’m not.” Peter smiled with confidence. However, he lost it as he saw how Thor was winning slowly but inevitably.  
  
When Peter’s hand touched the table, everyone cheered for Thor. He smiled and let go Peter’s hand, which he returned quickly under the table.  
  
“It was obvious who was going to win.” Drax commented.  
  
“Well, he got me for a second at the start of the wrestle. If I hadn’t been cautious I would have lost.” He said to Drax, but looking at the frown of Peter’s with a smile.  
  
“I knew it.” Peter muttered, rubbing his hand. Thor hoped he only needed some time to be comfortable around him; Peter seemed like a nice guy.  
  
…  
  
It was finally the last hour Peter had to take, Science History to be exact. When he got into the classroom and looked for a place to sit down there he saw Thor again. Stupid Thor with a giant stupid smile waving at him to sit down with him. He rolled his eyes but sat down in the chair next to him anyway, he’d rather deal with an idiot he already knows than with an unknown idiot.  
  
“What a coincidence.” Thor said to him.  
  
“It’s not like we had seen each other every hour in the hallway, right?”  
  
“I thought you hadn’t seen me, you never looked back to me.” Thor lifted an eyebrow, an amused look obvious on his face.  
  
“Shut up. The teacher is already here.” Peter dismissed him with a shake of his head and looked to the man entering the room and standing in front of the whiteboard.  
  
“Hello, you can call me Stark and I’m going to teach you about…” The teacher looked down at the book he had in his hands. “Science History? Whatever.”  
  
Thor took his notebook and opened it. Peter then tried to focus on what the teacher had to say and ignored the annoying man by his side. He felt like this was going to be a long and obnoxious year.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really should be studying instead of writing.

Peter didn’t understand why they sat with Thor and his group of friends always they went to the cafeteria. How and when had everyone decided they were going to be friends without asking him before? He would go so carelessly to get his morning coffee and see everyone sitting in the same table in the same places and he had to sit in front of Thor. He didn’t mind Clint or Bruce (who, he discovered, was working as an intern for Stark), and Natasha was really pretty and cool, but he couldn’t stand Thor and how the man was trying too hard to be friendly with him.  
  
“Quill, what do we have to do for Science History next week?” He asked sometimes even if Peter knew Thor had written it down on his stupid notebook.  
  
“Quill, have you seen that boy on the spider costume today?” He said other day, and of course he had. He shared a class with Parker and knew the ridiculous dares he had to accomplish sometimes. However, he shrugged and ignored him.  
  
“Quill, do you still have my pen? I think I lost it.” He had the pen and didn’t intend to return it, it wrote really smoothly, so he said no.  
  
And this went on for a several days, until one day he didn’t ask him anything and Peter just felt weird. He sat down and Thor didn’t even greet him, he just continued telling Bruce about some TV series he didn’t know about. He looked at Drax, but he seemed to be busy talking to Clint too, so Peter only could look down to his coffee. Had Thor already gotten the message? He didn’t know why he didn’t felt relieved, so he did the only thing he knew that worked: say something, anything, but say it soon.  
  
“Thor, you are blocking the sun.” He said, looking at him in an attempt to talk with someone. Thor stopped talking with Bruce and looked at him, stoic.  
  
“Are we talking now?” He asked simply.  
  
“No, what we are doing now is cycling.” Peter coated with sarcasm his words. “You are blocking the sun.”  
  
“You are blocking my attempts to be friends, so I think we are on a tie.” Thor cocked an eyebrow, amusement and dare in his eyes. Peter saw how Bruce looked at him and quickly at Thor for a few seconds and then turned to Natasha to mutter something to her, but he didn’t give them any attention.  
  
“Well, the sun is important for things like vitamins and health. Your friendship is important for what? For having my daily portion of headache?” Peter knew it was a shitty reason, but he had wanted to start the argument somehow.  
  
“Then that’s a good thing I’m getting the sun.”  
  
Peter frowned pissed and mocked him before taking a sip of his coffee. Annoying as always. As it was, he just got his Walkman out and isolated himself from the world after seeing the man in front of him laugh at him.  
  
Thor watched him tap his fingers at the rhythm of the song he was hearing. This moment reminded him of Science History’s hours. He really liked that hours, but not because the class was interesting or because Mr. Stark was great at his job, but because he wouldn’t get any harsh comments from Quill. Thor was honest with himself, he didn’t hate Quill, and he liked to have what he liked to call a healthy rivalry. However, he was not sure if that’s what Quill thought it was. And sometimes the comments could get him on his nerves, but he liked the guy altogether. He just hoped he would relax around him.  


  
…  


  
Dim light got through the curtains of Peter’s bedroom, comforting and relaxing him on a moment of tranquility. However, he knew nice things don’t last forever and this was no exception.  
  
“We could invite Natasha, Thor and everyone to the next movie night.” Gamora suggested to Peter as she turned on the bed to look at him. Peter just covered his eyes with his arm and groaned, sinking his head further on the pillow. “You can’t be like this every time things don’t go your way.” She sighed and rubbed his arm softly.  
  
“I can’t? Just watch me.” He mumbled sleepy.  
  
“Why do you always do this, Peter?” She sat up with a frown and covered her chest with the blankets. The sweetness and patience disappeared quickly from her voice. “You can’t be an asshole to everyone that makes you feel threatened.”  
  
“No, that’s not true. He doesn’t make me feel threatened.” Dropping his arm to his side, Peter glared up to her. He was getting mad. They were always talking about that idiot. Wasn’t he even allowed to have a moment with her without any of this shit coming up? She really wanted them to be friends, but he was happy with the friends he already had. “We just don’t get along, it’s that simple.” Gamora huffed.  
  
“You’re... incredible.” She rubbed her face with a hand, tired and annoyed. “That’s the reason we’re only friends with benefits, Peter.” Peter’s face went rigid and he covered it again. “I’ve told you that-”  
  
“I don’t really want to talk about it.” He interrupted, serious. He then heard a sigh followed by noise of clothing and a door opening and closing immediately after. He tightened his jaw and pursed his lips, exhaling. This was all Thor’s fault, he thought, except he knew deep down it was his and only his.  


  
…  


  
The next Monday he saw Thor, Peter was only wishing he could be at home, under his blankets and listening to depressive songs. When they met on the hallway, they just stared to each other before going to their classes. He didn’t want anything to do with the other man.  
  
At the cafeteria, there were only Thor and Bruce on the table and Peter wondered where the others where. He hesitated between sitting down with them or going away, they looked like they were having an important conversation but then he locked eyes with Bruce, who kept staring at him, and felt forced to go there. They both looked tired. He was sure he looked tired too.  
  
“Hey.” He just said before sitting in front of them. He really didn’t want to be there. Stupid Bruce with his giant eyes that can’t be avoided.  
  
“Quill.” Thor started saying with a sharp serious voice. Peter felt unsure about that change of tone. “If you are here only to mock me, you can go away.” Thor looked at him for a second before returning his gaze to his phone.  
  
“Oh, man.” Peter ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t like this situation even the smallest bit. The air was filled with tension. “And here I thought you appreciated my presence.” The continuous stare from Bruce at him was getting him on his nerves. Thor cracked a sarcastic smile and looked up.  
  
“Maybe, but not right now.” Peter gulped. He didn’t know what was happening, but he felt like his hatred for him could wait a bit, if he didn’t want to feel Bruce wrath, anyways.  
  
“Oh? So you really like me?” He faked a confident smile. Thor just sighed. “I found your pen.” Peter said out of nowhere, but it seemed to spark some interest in him. His mind was going at full speed to ease the situation. “It was by the teacher’s desk. I don’t know how it got there.” He picked his backpack and got out the pen, offering it to him. Why was he doing this to him? Well, maybe if he gave an opportunity to this friendship everything would be better, including his complex situation with Gamora.  
  
Thor picked the pen from his hand and a sincere smile appeared on his face. Peter saw how Bruce cocked an eyebrow.  
  
“Thank you.” He alternated the looks between his pen and Peter. He couldn’t help but notice how he looked happier. Peter watched him dumbfounded for a few seconds when Bruce coughed and startled him.  
  
“No problem.” Peter checked his phone quickly. “Well, guess who is running late. See you.” It was a lie. He had more than half an hour free but he had to get away from that table. He was running low on options.  
  
Thor watched how Quill got away and then looked back at the pen, surprised. He knew Peter had it, that it wasn’t lost. The dude was good picking things that weren’t his, but he wasn’t as good on keeping it a secret, so Thor caught him easily. He was nicely surprised at this event.  
  
“Thor, is that a smile caused by Peter Quill what I see?” Bruce asked incredulous.  
  
“What do you mean?” He looked at his friend, confused at the sudden comment.  
  
“You know, I’ve noticed that you seem happier when he’s around.” Bruce shrugged. “I’m not one to judge, but him?”  
  
“You’re seeing things. You spend too much time in the laboratory and the gases are frying your brain.” Thor simply shook his head but looked again at the pen. He became more aware of the silly smile he had.  
  
“I haven’t been able to distract you all day but here he comes, says two sentences and you smile.” Bruce smiled. “You forget the bad things when he’s here. You’re more playful with him than with any of us the rest of the month. Even Natasha and Clint have noticed it.” Thor felt the smile on his lips grow and he just shrugged.  
  
“I don’t know what you mean.” He teased. It didn’t really matter to him in that moment.  


  
…  


  
When they met in class two hours later, Peter noticed how Thor was looking upset again, like before. He was looking down to his phone again so Peter got closer to him stealthily and peeked at the phone, curiosity at its peak. On the screen was what he supposed was a family photo. There were a cheerful blonde kid, a mischievous looking dark haired kid, a grumpy teenager girl and two smiling and proud parents. Peter smiled a bit, recognizing Thor instantly.  
  
“Is that your family?” Peter asked him without thinking. Thor jumped on his seat and turned at him, obviously startled. Peter just laughed a bit at this.  
  
“Oh.” Blushing from the embarrassment of being caught with his guard down, he hesitated between blocking his phone and ignoring him or actually answering. He decided for the later. “Yes. These… These were my parents. She’s my sister Hela, and this is… This was my brother Loki.”  
  
Thor got absent minded looking at the photo again and Peter grimaced. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked. He could see the tension on the other as he sat down by his side.  
  
“Loki? Hela? Everyone in your family have god names? How ridiculous is that?” He tried to sound casual, but he didn’t know if it was working. Thor just shrugged, his face falling down on a frown.  
  
And they went silent once again. Peter checked the hour, nervous. Stark was being late. What an uncomfortable situation. He got his laptop and opened his work. He looked at Thor for a second then he looked at his screen. He rubbed his hands. Then, his neck. And then, he ran his hand through his hair. He sighed and turned to him.  
  
“I’m sorry for your brother.” He said softly.  
  
“Don’t worry.” He simply stated with a smile Peter didn’t know if it was real or feigned that disappeared as soon as it appeared. “Not that you care much about me, anyways. I get you don’t like me.”  
  
That left Peter speechless and a bit hurt, but he shut up and never mentioned that on the following days.  


  
…  


  
Thor shifted his weight on one foot to another, nervous as he waited on the police station’s reception. He inhaled trying to soothe his nerves. He was there only to answer some questions about that night. Steve was working on getting the murderer. Even if the murderer was a serial killer that had murdered more than a dozen people and has been active from a year and a half. He hoped that when he caught him they would make him suffer.  
  
A policewoman called his name from the inside and he followed her through the hallways of the offices into one of them, where Steve was, checking some documents with his coworker. The woman knocked the door.  
  
“Thank you.” Steve smiled at her, then at him. “Sit down, Thor.”  
  
He obeyed silently.  
  
“How are you?”  
  
“Is this part of the interrogatory?” Thor asked puzzled. Steve giggled and his coworker just smiled.  
  
“No, Thor. I just care about you as a friend.” Steve showed him a blank paper. “I suppose you don’t remember much about what we asked you that night, but when you answer one of the questions,” Steve gave the paper to his coworker. “Bucky is going to write down what could be relevant to resolve this case, okay?”  
  
“Oh, right. It’s true I remember everything of that night as a rush. But I’m okay. I suppose.” Steve’s smile was comforting him. He had helped him a lot of times, they trusted each other.  
  
“Can I start asking you?” Thor nodded.  
  
He had to recreate the situation once again. Loki and he were waiting under the rain to the next bus that went near their apartment because Loki had insisted on taking public transport for some reason he didn’t care to get. He remembered it a bit hazy. Suddenly, a big man was by his side and he remembered getting punched with a lot of strength. He touched unconsciously the faint scar on his eyebrow before returning to his narration. He fell to the ground and heard shouting from his brother. When he recovered and finally got up, the man had his brother by his neck. He didn’t know if Loki ordered him to run or if he imagined it, but when an ugly crack came from his brother his legs starting running without his consent. He was a bit stunned and a car knocked him down. Yes, Loki had some enemies. No, he hadn’t done anything illegal since he got out of the jail. Yes, some things were morally dubious but nothing illegal.  
  
“You’re doing great, Thor. I know it’s hard.” Steve comforted him. “What are the names of the people that picked you up?”  
  
“Mantis, Drax, Quill and Gamora.”  
  
Bucky stopped writing suddenly and looked at Steve, who returned his look, worry obvious on their faces. Thor felt his stomach sink. He couldn’t stand more bad news.  
  
“Thor, could you give us a physical description of Gamora?” Bucky asked as he messed with a box of documents on the floor.  
  
“She’s a black woman, on her twenties, really pretty, average stature… Why?” Steve looked at Bucky once again, who just simply nodded.  
  
“Thor. I’m sorry, but there’s a big chance that she’s missing.” He picked the missing form with her information on it. “I shouldn’t show you this, but one of her friends and her sister, I don’t remember their names, are here, on other office, saying they hadn’t saw her in a few days and that she doesn’t answer the phone.”  
  
“That’s…” Thor was left astonished. “It’s true. I thought she was sick, but she hasn’t been coming to College for some days.” He rubbed his face with a hand and sighed. Could things get worse?  
  
“I think we got enough information for now, Steve. We can let the boy go.” Bucky muttered to his friend while checking the papers once again, a sympathetic smile when looking at him.  
  
“Yes, I think so.” Steve sighed too. “I’m sorry, Thor. I want you to know that we are friends and if you need something from me just ask, okay?”  
  
Thor nodded. The devastated look he had really hurt Steve. How many loses had to endure the boy?  
  
“Can I talk with Gamora’s sister and friend?” Thor asked in a mere whisper Steve was lucky to hear.  
  
“I think her sister isn’t available, but maybe her friend is on the waiting room.”  
  
Thor just thanked them and went to the waiting room. There he saw Quill inclined, supporting his head on his hands. He hesitated for a second, maybe they didn’t had the best relationship, but if life had insisted on teaching him something, it was about loses and police procedures. He sat down next to him and cleared his voice to grab his attention. Quill looked at him and when he realized who he was, he shot up on his seat startled to see him. Thor could see Peter had red eyes.  
  
“What are you doing here?” Peter’s tone was really surprised. Thor had to keep calm, for the sake of both of them.  
  
“I had to answer some questions about my brother, you know.” He tried to relax against the plastic chair. “I heard about Gamora.”  
  
Peter didn’t say anything and Thor was okay with that. They spent several minutes in silence, looking at nowhere. Until a policeman told Peter they had no more questions for him, that he could go away.  
  
“Do you have to wait here?” Peter asked Thor when he got up from the chair.  
  
“No, I’ll take the bus to home now.” Thor got up and checked the hour. If he hadn’t waited Peter he would have taken the fastest bus, now he had to wait, but he didn’t really mind it.  
  
“Do you want me to drive you?” Peter offered surprising Thor. However, in more thought Thor understood he didn’t want to be alone. It had been torturous when Loki died and had to return all alone to an empty apartment.  
  
“If you insist, of course.” He nodded and followed him to the familiar car and sat down on the copilot seat.  
  
Thor only indicated him the way to his home and then they fell silent one again. He didn’t like the vulnerability on the air, he didn’t like how depressed Peter looked, he didn’t like the anxiety eating him alive.  
  
“Are you Gamora’s boyfriend? You look very close.” He had this curiosity since the start of the friendship, but he never bothered himself enough to actually ask about it.  
  
“No. It’s complicated.” Peter answered dryly, and Thor didn’t make any attempt to start any conversation again.  


  
…  


  
Peter seemed to be followed by an aura of depression every time Thor saw him on campus. He didn’t even answer to his greetings and he stopped talking on the cafeteria even to his friends. Everyone was on his nerves and Thor even talked about it with Mantis, who only said something about him needing time alone. However, Thor was sure he was spending too much time alone as he didn’t talk to anyone, and he was making everyone tiptoe around him. It couldn’t be healthy for anyone and it reminded him how Loki was when he was upset. Thor missed Loki so much. He was sure he would have some amazing trick to fool Peter into being sociable once again. But he wasn’t there and Thor found himself infected by Peter’s sadness.  
  
It was only a matter of time someone would snap at him, maybe Drax. But it really shocked him that it was Gamora’s own sister.  
  
“You can’t be like this, Quill!” He heard some angry shouting from somewhere and quickly went to the source to see a bunch of students already circling the scene in front of them. A woman he had never seen was accusing him. “So I skip work to do you a favor and you act this shitty! My sister’s not dead, so you better start acting like that, asshole!”  
  
Peter looked like a deer caught on the headlights. He tried to mumble something on his defense but wasn’t able to do so.  
  
“I don’t know what she saw on you, you’re useless.” She was being aggressive and Thor was ready to act in any moment if things escalated. “At least you could act thankful I tried to be kind to you! And you are being an avoidant piece of shit and I’m tired! Everyone is having a rough time and you’re acting like a baby. I’m done with you.”  
  
She then turned away and started walking in the parking direction. The crowd started to dissolve and Peter stood there, motionless, looking at the figure of the woman. Thor approached like he would if Peter was a hurt animal.  
  
“Quill, are you-”  
  
“Shut up, I don’t need your pity.” He interrupted him with a harsh look and got away, leaving Thor confused and a bit angry. In perspective, that boy deserved all the words he had received. Thor inhaled deeply to soothe his nerves and went to his class.  


  
…  


  
A week since the disappearance of Gamora had passed and Thor was watching the TV while having dinner when the new of a new dead body that had been found on a park popped up. It was another victim of the serial killer. Thor was already getting nauseous, but when the reporter said the victim had been identified as Gamora, he got up and puked on the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> I promise you things are going to get better, sorry for the angst :(  
> Also, if you think there's something that needs to be tagged and I didn't, please tell me! I don't want to trigger someone on purpose.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I've been having exams and I really struggled with the first part of the chapter, I didn't want to be repetitive and I wanted to keep somethings for the future chapters and I didn't know how to make it interesting.  
> However, thank you for waiting! I hope you like this new chapter.

  
Music blared from Peter’s bedroom, soft and slow notes filling the hallways and even reaching the floor below. Mantis fidgeted in front of his door, hesitant, deciding if she should try calling him once again. It had been three days since the police had called them to tell them the news and it had been two days and twenty two hours since Peter had shut himself in his bedroom.  
  
At first, Drax and Mantis had let him be, they were devastated, of course, but they knew Peter’s feelings for Gamora were beyond simple friendship. However, when he didn’t even go to the kitchen with them, they started calling for him, asking how he was. He never answered.  
  
Mantis knocked shyly.  
  
“Peter, please, we are worried. You have to go out.”  
  
And the only answer was the sad music. She sighed and prepared herself to go to class.  
  
Peter, on the other side of the door, turned on his bed. He buried his face on the pillow and swore quietly. How could he have lost her like that? What was the point in anything now? 

  
…  


  
“He refuses to leave his room.” Drax said quietly and a bit annoyed when Natasha asked about Peter on the cafeteria. “We haven’t seen him even going to the bathroom.”  
  
Thor heart was clenching. Mantis cheerfulness was gone and Drax seemed to be always on the edge. He could feel the tension on his shoulders.  
  
“I guess he needs his time.” Natasha said on a small voice.  
  
“The funeral is next Tuesday.” Mantis picked a paper from her backpack and handed it to them. It had scribbled down the hour and place of the ceremony. “If you want to come, we’ll be there.”  
  
“Of course, Mantis.” Bruce smiled at her reassuringly. Thor just nodded.  
  
He was starting to get stressed; he was going to have two funerals in less than half a year. Those last nights he couldn’t even close his eyes, remembering his brother and the man who killed him. That now had killed Gamora, one of his new friends, too. He felt his blood boiling, but he couldn’t do anything. He tried to bury his hatred but the killer was making that difficult, so he only could stay still, hoping for a better time to come.  


  
…  


  
The first time Thor saw Peter in more than a week, was in the funeral. He was in the front row, looking to nowhere, his lips pursed in a thin line and he looked lonely, even though he was with Drax and Mantis.  
  
He and his friends sat down on one of the back rows and listened intently to the speeches Gamora’s sister and some of her friends said. Drax and Peter remained silent, but Mantis said some words. They watched the slow pace she had while walking, repressing any nervousness.  
  
“Gamora was one of my best friends.” She started saying with a shy smile “She could have a serious expression on her face, but she always showed her heart was one of the gentlest of the world. She was one of the few that accepted me when we were young. When I was sad, she would tell me how incredible and thoughtful I was, but in the end, she was the one being incredible and thoughtful. I know she loved us as much as we love her. I’m going to miss her beautiful smile when she talked about her sister, her laugh when she heard some joke, and the fondness on her eyes when any of us would accomplish something in our lives. She was…” Her voice cracked and her eyes started to shine with contained tears “She was perfect… And I, I will always… have her on my heart…”  
  
She sniffed as she went back to her seat. Drax rubbed her shoulder but she was joining the crying people. Thor also felt the lump on his throat, and it wouldn’t go down even if he gulped. He saw Bruce erasing some silent tears from his cheeks with the black sleeve of his jacket.  
  
Shortly after the ceremony ended, they were waiting outside the cremation room. Thor approached Nebula to offer his condolences. She just nodded and thanked him when another guest came to her. Then, he came to greet Drax, Mantis and Peter, who were sitting down on a coach of the waiting room.  
  
“Mantis, your speech was beautiful.” Thor commented. “I didn’t know Gamora that much, but I’m sure she was as great as you said.”  
  
Mantis had a small smile on her face and Thor felt a similar one growing on him.  
  
“She was strong as a warrior and intelligent as a Nobel prize winner.” Drax said proud of her and Mantis giggled softly.  
  
Thor looked then at Peter and though he wasn’t looking directly at them, he had a small smile for a few seconds before it disappeared.  
  
Then they stood near each other on a comfortable silence until the person in charge gave Nebula the ashes on a modest wooden box. Thor left with his friends then.  


  
…  


  
Another week passed and Peter was still stuck on their house, as Mantis and Drax had been informing them. Slow but steadily he was leaving his room and now he was living normally on there. Mantis smiled and was hopeful, Drax was still a bit annoyed and complained about having to lend him his notes, but happier nonetheless. Soon he would return to classes, they hoped.  
  
And then, one day, Thor arrived to the cafeteria alone, as Bruce, Natasha and Clint had to go to the library for some project, and saw Peter sitting down with Mantis and Drax. He approached with a big smile.  
  
“Is there any seat free for me?” He asked jokingly and they looked at him.  
  
“Of course!” Mantis voice was full of joy. He sat down in front of Drax and on Mantis’ left.  
  
They started having a nice chat, but Thor noticed how Peter remained quiet all the time, just listening and exchanging looks between them, never cracking a smile or a laugh when they did, his mind working behind that serious expression.  
  
“We should be going to Vision’s class, Drax.” Mantis got up and picked her backpack after a while. Drax nodded and they waved them goodbye with a smile.  
  
Thor felt very uncomfortable then, noticing the stare of Peter on him like weight. Thor waited for a second for him to say something, but nothing came. He decided to make the first move.  
  
“Quill, a photo will last longer, you don’t have to look at me so hard.” He joked unsure and nervous. Peter’s face turned more serious even if he thought it was impossible and finally he spoke aloud.  
  
“Shut up. I’ve made clear before I don’t like you. Stop trying to befriend me just because your stupid brother was killed like Gamora. You can’t understand anything.”  
  
Peter watched with mild surprise how Thor’s face changed to surprise then to anger. He could see him closing and opening his fists on the table. For a second, he knew what he was doing was unfair, but he couldn’t care less. He was tired and he was angry and he wanted a way to let everything spill. So he thought of Thor, and how he hated his guts and how he was a pain in the ass. In his mind, Thor would be the perfect gateway to make his anger disappear.  
  
“What have you said?” Thor narrowed his eyes and his voice was colder than what Peter had imagined him ever being. Peter gulped and decided to ignore every danger warning his head was blaring.  
  
“Your brother is dead and I don’t care if you think that gives you the right to try and get involved in the issues of others.” Thor got up suddenly and Peter wasn’t quick enough to get away when the other man grabbed him from the collar of his T-shirt. The usually careless eyes of Thor were cloudy and hurt, Peter noticed. A pang of guilt shook him, but it was too late to fix anything.  
  
“Don’t ever mention Loki again, or…” Thor left the threat hanging on the air. Peter suddenly became very aware of their surroundings and the stares of the startled students.  
  
“Or what? Are you going to give me another ridiculous god name like everyone in your family has? What kind of name is even Loki? I couldn’t stand being called Odin or something like that.” Maybe it wasn’t the best jab Peter could imagine, but it worked.  
  
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his left cheek and he fell on the table. He tried to support himself, but he saw another punch coming for him so he descended to the floor. Fast, he got up and tackled Thor; or tried, because the other man was bigger and heavier.  
  
Before anything could get worse, he felt a pair of arms immobilizing him. A few of students had them away from each other. He looked at Thor and noticed the murderous stare he had directed at him. Peter smiled cockily, as if he had achieved something important, but actually he felt even worse than before. A little voice on the back of his head said to him that Gamora would be disappointed with him.  
  
Peter realized about all the shouting around him demanding them to calm down, so he obeyed. He stopped offering resistance and he was left free. Thor, however, was still tense and ready to jump at any moment.  
  
Peter just picked his backpack and left the cafeteria, leaving him there.  


  
…  


  
After that day, Peter only saw Thor on Science History. He stopped coming to the cafeteria, and after the second day, Bruce stopped too. He supposed he didn’t like to leave the big man alone. Mantis scolded him about the fight; Drax only stared at him judgmentally. They both sometimes asked Natasha and Clint about Thor when the two visited the cafeteria, which became a rare occurrence slowly.  
  
“He says he misses you two.” Clint said with an uncomfortable smile. “He refuses to talk with you, Peter, though.”  
  
The tone on Clint voice was upset and tense, but Peter didn’t care. He didn’t care about Thor and he was fine with Bruce, Natasha and Clint becoming more distant. He never needed more friends. He was happy with Mantis, Drax, Gamora and occasionally Nebula.  
  
But Gamora was dead and Nebula was distant too.  


  
…  


  
“Now that we have twenty minutes left, we are going to start with this term’s assigned project.” One morning Stark announced to the class. A collective groan was heard. “Yes, I know. More shit you have to do; more shit I have to mark. However, it’s in this subject program and I have to stick to it. Take a look on the program if you don’t believe me.”  
  
Thor checked it and there it was: a project about different scientists and their contributions to science. There was a list underneath the description with the options.  
  
“You have to make groups for this project, but I’ll do you a favor and I’ll pick them randomly. This way no one is happy with the groups and you work efficiently so you don’t have to repeat the project.” Stark had a mischievous smile that told Thor that maybe the groups weren’t so randomly picked. He would ask Bruce later about it.  
  
Stark started to list everyone in groups of three and assigned them one of the scientists of whom they would have to write about and make a presentation.  
  
“… Odinson, T’Challa and Quill, you have to study Ramón y Cajal.”  
  
That couldn’t be a coincidence. He knew the animosity between Quill and him was well-known in the entire campus; Stark must have put them together on purpose. He turned to look at Quill and saw him staring daggers in his direction; they have decided to sit as far as they could without saying anything. He decided to ignore him and look at T’Challa, who had his face buried on his hands, desperate. Thor liked T’Challa, he was a man of honor and was polite, but he understood that being in the same group as him and Quill could be seen as hard.  
  
“Sit down together and plan the project. Remember, the deadline is on October 28th. I won’t pick any late project unless it’s because some important justified reason.” Stark sat on his chair and picked some papers. “You can work now.”  
  
Thor picked his things slowly and waited for the tables around T’Challa to be clear before sitting down with him. He saw Peter doing the same.  
  
“I think we should make an outline of the subjects we should treat.” T’Challa said going directly into the matter they have in hand.  
  
“Yes, then we should divide up and assign us the subjects, so we can split the work.” Quill suggested after nodding to him.  
  
“However, we should still meet up to make the project uniform and coherent.” Thor said while flicking through their book, looking for anything about the biologist.  
  
“Obviously.” Peter looked at him with disdain. “I thought it was implicit.” Thor raised an eyebrow at that.  
  
“Maybe it wasn’t that implicit if I had the need to say it. Maybe if you followed the basic rules of a conversation you wouldn’t have this problem.” Thor remarked.  
  
They stared at each other for a few seconds, the tension growing in them.  
  
“Okay… What about we prepare a short biography before going to his discovers?” T’Challa suggested after a sigh. That snapped Thor and Peter out of his trance and looked at him suddenly.  
  
“I think it’s a good idea.” Thor answered.  
  
“Yeah, whatever you want, I don’t care.” Quill just shrugged and Thor felt his patience growing thinner.  


  
…  


  
They agreed to meet the next afternoon on the study of the library to start the project together and guide the project to a certain method from the beginning. But T’Challa couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing. They had been there for nearly an hour but couldn’t progress anything because Peter and Thor were always at the other’s throat. He inhaled sharply and rubbed his temples. He was losing his patience and he had a lot of patience. He decided some adult had to stop this madness, at least until the deadline.  
  
“You don’t have any fucking idea about how to organize the info, asshole.” Quill said out of nowhere.  
  
“Stop complaining and do something already, I don’t care about what you say as long as Stark likes the project.”  
  
“Well, he won’t like the project if it’s organized like that, where did you learned this useless method? On Asgard?”  
  
“I’m getting tired of you and you don’t want to get me tired. Don’t you remember the beating I gave you? We could start another one.”  
  
“Stop talking and punch me already if you are so brave and-” T’Challa got up suddenly from his chair with a slam of his hands against the table.  
  
“Enough. I’ve had enough of your childish behavior. I don’t care if you are enemies, friends or whatever you are; I really don’t, but if what you have between you two is going to interfere with the project and my mark you have to stop. We’ve been here for an hour and we don’t even have the biography. If you can’t act like adults I’m going to inform Mr. Stark and have him scold you like the toddlers you are insisting on be. Do you understand me?”  
  
Both of them looked at T’Challa surprised and quiet. Slowly, they nodded and started to search for information about Ramón y Cajal.  
  
“Alright. I’m happy you are starting to cooperate, but I won’t tolerate it if this behavior shows up again.”  
  
They nodded once again. From that on, the working afternoon went smoothly, even if T’Challa noticed the tension sometimes, and they decided to meet up the same day of the following week, once they had more work done.  
  
When they left the library, to Thor’s surprise, Quill called him.  
  
“I think we should talk, like adults.” Peter was avoiding looking at Thor directly, but gestured to him to a bench near the library’s entrance.  
  
“Alright.” Thor just sat down and waited for him to talk.  
  
“Well, I guess this mess is kind of my fault for being a dick.” He fidgeted with the Walkman inside his pocket, trying to distract him enough. He had had time to think about his actions and T'Challa speech had given him the perfect excuse to calm things.  
  
“Yes, a true dick.” Peter rolled his eyes and looked briefly at him, who was just staring to the front.  
  
“However, I think we should just stop fighting. No enemies, no friends. Just classmates.” A few seconds passed, as if Thor was considering the offer and Peter was about to retract before Thor answered.  
  
“It sounds sensible. I agree.” He nodded before getting up. “Goodbye, Quill.”  
  
“Goodbye.”  


  
...  


  
They kept their word, Thor and his friends started to come to the cafeteria once again and though they never talked with each other, they acted normal with their friends. No one commented anything on this change, just welcomed it. However, this silent treat was only a temporary thing.  
  
T’Challa and they decided to meet more frequently on the library because the work kept accumulating, so Peter and Thor were forced to interact with each other more. At first it went strictly professional, but as the meetings passed, they were relaxing, becoming comfortable with each other.  
  
“What does say that book about the neuronal structure?” Thor asked one evening.  
  
“I don’t know, man!” Peter complained with a whiny voice. “This book is the biggest shit I’ve ever seen! Why the fuck Stark did not explain this syncrapse thing?”  
  
“Syncrapse…” Thor answered with a confused look. “Wait, do you mean synapse?” A smile grew on Peter’s face even though he huffed.  
  
“Yeah, whatever!” Then Thor started laughing without a warning, clutching to his sides.  
  
T’Challa looked entertained how Peter started to chuckle but covered his mouth with his hand. It was a relief seeing the tension wasn’t a constant on the project.  
  
“Guys, I’m happy to see you are friends once more.” T’Challa commented with a smirk when Thor’s laughter had subsided.  
  
At that, Peter and Thor looked at him surprised, then to each other and quickly at him again. Thor shook his head.  
  
“No, we’re not friends. We’ve never been friends to begin with.” Peter said hurriedly. T’Challa just stifled a laugh.  
  
“If you say so.”  
  
Peter was writing down about the synapse when he realized how the dynamic with Thor was like before everything went downhill. They started talking and teasing each other, and he found himself enjoying it. He thought that maybe that’s what Gamora had wanted, that changes wouldn’t be so bad. He looked up at Thor and didn’t felt so bad as before. He smiled at himself after turning to his papers again.  


  
…  


  
October 28th finally arrived and Peter was rubbing his hands with nervousness. They had made a great effort on the project and though he wasn’t the best at studying, he hoped he wouldn’t have lowered T’Challa’s grade. He didn’t care that much about Thor’s grade. Fuck his grades. He smiled at his own thoughts.  
  
“What’s so funny, Quill?” T’Challa asked and he was obviously nervous too. The project was a 40% of the global grade.  
  
“Nothing, just thought something.”  
  
Then, he focused once again on the presentation of the third group. When their classmates finished and Stark gave them an illustrative mark that he would consider deeper later, it was their turn. And they did great, the curiosities about the scientists they found on a library’s book left Stark impressed. The long hours looking for interesting info were productive.  
  
“Well done, boys. I think you’ll have an outstanding.” Stark said with a smile. “The presentation was clean and clear, the explanation was correct and exact. It’s now the turn for the next group.”  
  
They sat down and celebrated silently while the other group prepared their presentation.  
  
“I knew the project was awesome.” Peter said cockily though he hadn’t been so sure.  
  
“Of course it was.” Thor nodded happily.  
  
“To celebrate it, I’m going to invite you to the Halloween party my sister had insisted on celebrating.” Offered T’Challa with a smile.  
  
“And you didn’t say anything before? I’m offended, dude.” Peter feigned a frown.  
  
“Oh, I don’t know. It was a great idea inviting the two men that fought each other on the cafeteria three weeks ago; I don’t know how I didn’t realize it sooner.” T’Challa mocked with sarcasm.  
  
“Exactly!” Peter laughed and they joined him. Stark then hushed them for being noisy and they tried to focus on the presentation, but Peter was too excited for it. He didn’t realize his body was craving for some dance and party. He should party for Gamora too. He was sure she would have wanted him to keep moving.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it good? I know I don't usually reply to the comments but it's because the only thing I can think of saying is a thank you and I don't think it's good enough to write and I don't know, I always thank you in this notes. Anyways, I'm rambling. Your comments fuel my inspiration! Thank you all and let me know what you think about this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh hi!  
> Your comments just really got me so happy and excited I wrote this down the next day and I just finished looking over it, so here it is!  
> Thank you so much for your support, really

  
Halloween came before Thor could realize it and he was left with only a few hours before going to the party and anything prepared for it. Looking through his closet, he found the box that stored all his costumes. He opened it and searched for one that would fit him. There was the Peter Pan costume when he had six years, and the vampire one from five years ago. Maybe he should donate those, but they were so funny to look at... The only one that was big enough was a Thor one, the god, not himself. He remembered how annoyed Loki was when Thor showed up with that costume and one of Loki for him. Loki always made funny faces when he tried to refuse taking part of his plans.  
  
“We can go with matching costumes! Everyone is going to love that, brother.”  
  
And Loki couldn’t resist the big smile of his goofy brother. After that night, they had to endure two months full of jokes, but it was worth the trouble. The following year they repeated costumes.  
Thor’s smile turned sad. He couldn’t wear this without his brother. It felt like a betrayal. He tidied everything back in the box and closed it again, putting it back in the closet. Well, if he didn’t have any costume he had to make one himself. He started roaming his apartment looking for ideas when he found the toolbox and had an idea, a mischievous smirk decorating his face.  


  
…  


  
Peter, Mantis and Drax arrived to T’Challa’s house, or more like manor. The place was huge! Peter counted at least three floors and they even had a fountain on the front yard! It reminded him of Ego’s house. It was obvious his family was rich and had no remorse on showing it. Their cheap rented tiny duplex in the outskirts of the city seemed like a can comparing to this house.  
  
The party had already started and there were loudspeakers everywhere blasting music. A splash followed by yelling told them there was a swimming pool on the back yard and that the pranks had started too.  
  
“T’Challa’s sister really knows how to throw a party.” Drax said with amazement on his eyes. Peter looked at his dumb costume again. As always, he had chosen one of his favorite WWE fighters and Peter didn’t know how Drax wouldn’t catch a cold with how little clothes he wore.  
  
“I want to meet her.” Mantis, dressed like an elf, looked to the people on the front yard, searching for some girl that looked like his brother.  
  
“Then stop talking and let’s go!” Peter cheered and played with the toy guns of his cowboy costume, ready to give it all.  
  
Inside there were even more people, it was as if half of the campus was invited. The place was filled with webs, skeletons and other decorations. Peter couldn’t help but smile seeing how Mantis was as excited as a little kid when she saw the bowls filled with Halloween themed candies. However, he lost his friends in the crowd when he went to the kitchen to grab a drink that was already prepared. Gulping down half of the crimson drink of the plastic cup, he was ready to go to the dance floor.  
  
When he got out of the kitchen, he saw Clint, Natasha, Bruce and Thor on a couch talking happily, so he went there with confidence.  
  
“Look at who we have here!” He greeted with a giant smile. How much alcohol did that cup had on it? He could feel he had loosened up already.  
  
The group of friends cheered at him and Clint gave him a high-five, laughing. He looked better at them and noticed Bruce was some kind of mad scientist and Natasha was wearing that typical sexy witch costume that was sold everywhere. Clint was some kind of steampunk archer with a bow and a quiver, but Peter didn’t know what Thor’s costume was supposed to be, he just had a bunch of tools on his belt.  
  
“I like your costume.” Natasha smiled at him and he winked back to her taking a sip of his cup.  
  
“Thanks, yours are great too. Except for Thor’s. What are you supposed to be, man?” Everyone groaned and Peter just lifted an eyebrow. A childish smirk grew on Thor’s face.  
  
“I’m a construc-thor.” Peter just stared at him with a blank face for a second. Bruce buried his face on his hands and sighed.  
  
“You can’t do this. It has to be illegal.” Peter’s voice was filled with seriousness. “And as the Sheriff in charge here, I have to take care of you and your crimes against humanity.”  
  
Thor boisterous laugh made everyone smile a little reluctantly. Peter shook his head trying to erase his smile in vain.  
  
“I’m going to dance a bit; if you need me you know where to get me. Oh, and Drax and Mantis are somewhere.” Peter shrugged and waved them goodbye before disappearing into the dancing ghosts and zombies.  
  
Thor looked to the direction Peter had gone until he felt Natasha’s hand on his shoulder.  
  
“It’s a good thing you two are friends now. Finally.” She said to him before getting up from the couch.  
  
“I don’t know if he thinks of me as a friend, Nat. I mean, I still call him Quill.” Thor shrugged on his seat, a frown on his face. “But it’s a better situation than before, I suppose.”  
  
“I’ll get you some beer before you kill the party, dude.” Clint got up and crossed his arms. “Do you want too?” He asked Natasha and Bruce.  
  
“No, we’re fine.” Natasha answered before Clint got away from there. Then she turned and offered a hand to Bruce. “And don’t you think you are going to sit down all the night here, Banner.”  
  
“But!” Bruce looked like Natasha had suggested robbing a bank to him. Poor Bruce, Thor thought, he didn’t like parties that much. He opened his mouth to defend himself but closed it again, then suddenly he pointed at Thor. “What about Thor? Aren’t you going to force him too?”  
  
“As if Thor needs someone to force him to be the life of the party.” Natasha shook her face with a smirk. “C’mon!”  
  
Bruce tried to look more annoyed than what Thor knew he actually was and picked her hand to go to the same direction as Peter had before. He hadn’t have to be alone too much time as Clint sat down with him and gave him a beer bottle soon. They clink their bottles on a silent toast and looked at the people in front of them. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves.  
  
“Look at that girl. Her costume is awesome.” Clint pointed to a ginger girl with a red witch costume that was talking and laughing with some friends. Thor hummed in agreement, it had a lot of details. “Do you think she is single?”  
  
Thor snorted and slapped him in the back.  
  
“How can I know that? You have to talk to her if you want this information.” Clint looked unsure to him, and then to her. “Man, the worst thing that can happen is you getting her drink all over you and that won’t happen if you behave like a decent human being. Go and say hi.”  
  
“Okay, okay. I’ll go.” Clint got up and Thor smiled to him reassuringly. “Wish me good luck.”  
  
“You don’t need it!” Thor cheered when Clint was halfway to meet the girl and he just flipped him off without turning.  
  
He saw how Clint started to talk to her and how the woman had a smile on her lips. Then he lost them too on the crowd. More people were arriving and no one was leaving, so soon he wouldn’t be able to take a step. He finally got up and decided to pick another beer and wander through the house to see what the party had to offer. Maybe he could join some games on the backyard.  


  
…  


  
It was three in the morning when Peter decided his throat needed more liquid, so he got into the kitchen avoiding bumping into the making-out pairings until he got to the Vodka and the orange soda bottles.  
  
“Peter, I think you had enough drinks.” Mantis’ voice surprised him red-handed, pouring the soda on the cup with Vodka. He turned to look at her concerned face.  
  
“Don’t worry, I’m alright.” He felt something cold touching his hand and looked down to see he had spilled the soda. “Shit!” He stopped pouring it quickly. “Sorry.”  
  
“Peter, seriously.” Mantis touched his shoulder. “How many drinks you have already?”  
  
“I don’t know.” Peter answered while taking a sip of his overflowing drink. “I think two beers and… some drinks, I don’t know how many exactly. But don’t worry, I control.”  
  
The frown on Mantis face was obvious but Peter felt her hand leaving his shoulder.  
  
“If you feel sick just look for Drax and me, okay? We can leave whenever you want.” Peter smiled brightly at the caring tone of her friend’s voice.  
  
“Of course! But I’m having fun. I’m going back to the living room, do you want to come?”  
  
“No, I prefer the back yard, it’s not as crowded.” She smiled apologetically. Peter just shrugged and took another sip.  
  
“Whatever you want, girl.” With that he just left the kitchen again and went to his destination.  
  
However, his intention on dancing changed when he saw Thor standing by one of the walls of the room. Peter realized how he had a small smile when he took a gulp of the beer he had. Before he could think what he was doing he was by his side and Thor’s expression was one of mild surprise to see him there.  
  
“Missed me?” He winked at the man. Sober Peter was going to be sorry for the acts of drunken Peter tomorrow. Thor smiled at this.  
  
“Not really, but you’re always welcomed.” Peter pouted at that and supported him on the wall.  
  
“You hurt my feelings.” He feigned a pained whine but smiled. “What are you doing here?”  
  
“I just needed some rest from dancing.” Thor wasn't there because that cute girl with the cat ears was making out with the astronaut guy he had been keeping his eyes on nearly the whole night, of course not. "And you?"  
  
“Drinking. Do you want? It’s a screwdriver.” Peter offered his plastic cup, but Thor shook his head and lifted his beer.  
  
“I prefer this. And also, I already have a screwdriver.” Thor wiggled his eyebrows as he patted his belt. Peter just chuckled.  
  
A comfortable silence settled between them as they looked at the people and listened to the catchy tunes of the music. Thor finished his bottle and left it on a table that had other six empty bottles before picking a new one from the bucket.  
  
“Quill.” Thor said looking down at the insides of the bottle. Peter hummed, waiting for him. “I want to apologize about the fighting. I was stressed and you mentioning my brother just sent me over the line. It was an unacceptable behavior."  
  
Peter heard the remorse on his voice and felt like someone just punched him on the gut. It had been his entire fault, he had caused the fight knowing it. It was unfair.  
  
“No, Thor. Don’t. The one who should be sorry it’s me. I just was angry. You know. I just take my frustrations on you. And I…” He looked down to his cup and found it was empty. “Aw man. I just ran out of drink again.”  
  
Without saying anything, Thor picked his cup from his hands and poured half of his beer on it. Peter kept looking at Thor’s face instead of picking his drink.  
  
“That’s what I mean! You are so fucking nice and I was an idiot. I’m always an idiot.” He picked his cup and looked down at it, feeling Thor’s eyes on him. He lowered his voice and Thor could hardly hear him under the loud music. “I’m sure Gamora was tired of me.”  
  
“No.” Peter looked at him surprised, as if he had forgotten Thor was there with him. He was met with a serious expression. “Gamora always talked proudly of you and everything she did was to make you happier. She had talked with me about how she wanted you to have more friends, that’s why she insisted me to be kind to you.”  
  
Peter felt suddenly very small. His eyes started to ache and he sniffed without noticing. He looked down to the cup once again and saw something falling on the beer. Closing his eyes, he gulped the whole cup on one go. It tasted bitterer than usual. When he tried to leave his cup on the table he staggered and started to fall before he felt Thor’s arm balancing him.  
  
“I think you should have some fresh air, Quill.” Peter looked at him when he stabilized himself and nodded. “I’ll help you.”  
  
Peter felt a big hand on his back pushing him gently to the front door, helping him to avoid dancing witches and killers until they were outside. A chill ran down Peter’s back and felt a bit nauseous. He should have listened to Mantis. He should always listen to Mantis but he never listened to anyone.  
  
“Let’s go there.” Thor pointed to a spot away from most of the people. Peter just nodded and rubbed his cheeks trying to hide his tears.  
  
On the way there he noticed the smell of a joint coming from somewhere, brought by a freezing breeze. He was getting cold and the warmth of Thor’s hand was really welcomed. They finally sat down on a stone bench that was hard and colder. It made him want more to cry loudly.  
  
He touched his forehead and noticed it felt foreign. The next day he was going to be a wreck.  
  
“Are you okay?” Thor asked him concerned.  
  
“No, I’m not. What am I going to do? I love her so much and we weren’t together because I was such an idiot. I’m… I just…” Thor started rubbing his thumb on circles on his back. “She was perfect! She had helped me through a lot of shit! And I just couldn’t be enough for her. She just wasted her time with me. I loved her but… And I’m a mess, I know that when it’s too late.”  
  
Peter was crying aloud now and Thor felt useless. What should he do besides letting him talk? So he just listened. And tried to make him know he wasn’t all that alone.  
  
“Everyone ends leaving me; I’m… not good enough for anyone. I try and I try. For what? I always learn my lesson too late, too late… too late! I lost my mom, I-I lost Yondu and I lost Gamora. What’s the point on anything?” It was getting difficult to understand him between the hiccups. “And it’s always my fault. I don’t-I don’t know if it’s because I try… too hard or not hard enough. But… She was perfect… I’m…”  
  
He stopped talking and crossed his arms, trying to keep the warmth.  
  
“And… I still love her and that’s… I was… That’s just… T-Thor!” Peter suddenly perked up and looked at him with panic on his eyes. “I’m sorry! You don’t have to hear all this shit! I must have spoiled your party with my stupid problems. I-”  
  
He started rambling and fidgeting and Thor felt his heart clenching. He didn’t know any great discourse about hope, or how life would be better, so he just tried his best and offered his support to him.  
  
“Hey.” Peter shut up and looked at him, anxious. He didn’t like how sad Thor was looking back at him. “Don’t worry, Quill. That’s what friends are for. I don’t mind.”  
  
Peter relaxed every muscle at the same time and kept staring at him for a second, his mind going at full speed.  
  
“Call me Peter.”  
  
After that, Thor’s entire expression changed. His smile was bigger than the sun and his eyes shined and Peter only could think _‘Oh, wow’_. He suddenly felt himself being dragged closer to Thor’s side and he couldn’t complain at the found warmth when the other man’s arm surrounded his shoulder and they were side by side. He looked down, feeling flustered. He wasn’t used to physical contact. He could feel on his side the rumble of the soft happy laugh from Thor.  
  
“I don’t know why you think that badly about you, but I just think you are great, Peter.”  
  
Peter cleaned his face with his sleeves while having a small shy smile. He had calmed down thanks to this stupid man with only a smile and kind words. Peter felt like a child whose friend had bought him some candy to fix his scraped knee.  
  
“You’re exaggerating. I’ve hurt you.” Peter shook his head but his smile didn’t go away.  
  
“Let bygones be bygones. You’re not trying to be mean with me anymore.” Peter found difficult to believe him but his eyes and smile were so sincere he did nonetheless.  
  
“You are an idiot.”  
  
“They usually tell me that.” He let a loud laugh.  
  
They kept chatting about silly things and Peter realized how easy it was to talk to him, and how they thought similar about certain things. He felt better now, he should have talked about Gamora sooner.  
  
“You owe me a dance now.” Thor said casually.  
  
“Why is that?”  
  
“Because I didn’t get to this night! You were too busy with your drinks and I was in the back yard. I’ve danced with everyone except with you.” He complained with a pout, but Peter just smiled.  
  
“We’ll see.”  
  
The sun started to rise before they knew it and Peter’s phone started to ring. It was Mantis asking him where he was because they wanted to leave. He waved goodbye to Thor with a smile before going to reunite with his friends and let Drax, the nondrinker of them (he said it was because alcohol was bad, Peter believed it was because he had zero tolerance), drive them home.  
When Peter finally got into his bed, he slept like a baby.  


  
…  


  
The following night, while Thor was having dinner, his phone beeped. He checked it and found that an unknown number had sent him a message.  
  
??:  
Hey Thor  
It’s Quill  
Bruce gave me your number so we could talk.  
  
Thor raised an eyebrow, intrigued before typing his answer.  
  
God of thunder:  
Great! How are you doing?  
Do you have a hangover?  
  
Thor went back to his contacts list and clicked on Angry Bruce.  
  
God of thunder:  
Dude, not that I’m complaining, but why did you gave my number to Peter?  
  
After a second, Bruce answer popped up on the chat.  
  
Angry Bruce:  
He asked for it and I thought it was a good idea  
For scientific purposes, you know ;)  
  
God of thunder:  
Why I don’t like how that sounds Bruce  
  
Angry Bruce:  
I don’t know  
Why, Thor?  
Also, when did you start calling him Peter?  
  
God of thunder:  
Last night he gave me permission  
  
Angry Bruce:  
Last night. When you two were sitting so close to each other.  
I saw you ;)  
  
Thor gasped. They were not… That’s not… Bruce was wrong! Thor felt his stomach twisting, thinking about how heartbroken Peter was about Gamora.  
  
God of thunder:  
We’re just friends, Bruce, really  
And he’s probably straight anyways  
I’m not comfortable talking about this, tbh  
  
Angry Bruce:  
Well, time will tell ;)  
  
Thor decided to left him unanswered and went back to Peter’s chat after adding him on his contacts.  
  
Music Peter:  
Ugh don’t talk about it  
I drank too much dude, I nearly puked breakfast  
  
God of thunder:  
So cute, I’m as fresh as always  
  
Music Peter:  
Fuck you  
It was your fault  
The beer you gave me is what killed me  
  
God of thunder:  
Hey I didn’t force you to drink it as if it was water  
  
Music Peter:  
You gave beer to an already drunk person how that could have ended alright?  
  
God of thunder:  
Idk  
  
Thor chuckled at his phone when Peter just sent him a bunch of flipping off emoji and he sent a thinking one. Exchanging messages, time passed, and when Thor realized it, his dinner had gotten cold and it was time to go to the bed.  
  
But he wanted to keep talking to Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> I hope this chapter is good, you deserve all my effort, seriously, I love your comments.  
> Also, kids, don't drink too much, don't follow Peter in this.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you for reading!  
> In this chapter they get to know a bit about each other's life! I hope you'll enjoy it!  
> Your comments give me life seriously, you're precious.

  
Peter yawned again for the umpteenth time that morning. He took a sip of his coffee on the cafeteria, listening to some story about the party Clint was telling to the group.  
  
“And everything was going smoothly, but when I try to make the first move, she stops me and tells me that she has a significant one!” He complained loudly.  
  
“Did she tell you who it was?” Thor asked containing a yawn and with curiosity in his eyes.  
  
“That’s the best part.” Clint lowered his voice so no one that wasn’t on their table could hear them. “She is having a love affair with the economics teacher. You know, the one that gives class to Mantis and Drax.”  
  
“Vision?” Mantis looked surprised but Drax laughed loudly.  
  
“You’re a loser, man.” Said Natasha, giggling slyly. “You have an entire party with lots of possible partners and you always chose the taken ones.”  
  
“The taken ones or the lesbians.” Bruce said laughing softly. “Remember that time he thought he had flirted with two girls and they were actually a couple.”  
  
“I remember that one! Oh man, you dropped your jaw that time!” Thor’s smile was huge.  
  
“Yeah, you can mock me, but that night Bruce broke a chair so we were kicked out, Nat woke up hugging my toilet and Thor was grounded on his house for a whole month.” Clint listed with annoyance in his voice. “I got two new amazing friends. And Wanda is a great girl and now she’s my friend too. I win this round.”  
  
Peter’s sleepy brain processed the information slowly and only after a few seconds he realized what Clint had said.  
  
“What? Bruce? Did you really break a chair?” Bruce turned red out of embarrassment and nodded shyly. Peter had trouble imagining it.  
  
“In his defense, it wasn’t entirely his fault. He broke it on an absolute shithead.” Thor said happily, but with another yawn.  
  
“Thor, that doesn’t really help me.” Bruce protested on a small voice.  
  
“You broke a chair on someone?!” Peter started to freak out. But Bruce was always this quiet and soft!  
  
“C’mon, Peter. Leave him alone.” Drax said, seeing how Bruce was fidgeting with his jacket. “What I wanted to ask is why you are so tired.”  
  
“Don’t tell me you and Thor messaged each other the whole night. Again.” Natasha arched an eyebrow after seeing Thor rubbing his eyes.  
  
“Yes.” Thor answered honestly, which caused Peter to roll his eyes.  
  
“I’m curious.” Mantis chirped with a smile. “What do you talk so much about?”  
  
Before Thor could open his mouth, Peter answered.  
  
“It’s his fault. He sends me videos of puppies and he talks about what he had on his mind all the time.”  
  
“You send me videos too!” Thor argued surprised, and Peter opened and closed his mouth, narrowing his eyes at him. “Hey, but I like the hamster videos.”  
  
Everyone started to laugh loudly at them and they couldn’t help but start laughing shortly after that. It was true; they had been talking a lot more since Halloween, both through their phones and on person. Peter just felt comfortable with their conversations and he hoped Thor thought the same. He supposed so, if not he would just left him unanswered.  
  
They would talk between classes too, cracking some jokes before going to the next class. On Science History they sat down together again.  
  
“Peter, why do you have always a Walkman? I mean, if it’s okay for me to ask.” Thor rubbed the back of his neck when Peter frowned slightly at his question. “I’m curious on why you don’t have something better.”  
  
Thor dreaded he had trespassed some line without knowing it because Peter’s lips became a thin line and his eyes were calculating. Before he could take back his question, Peter talked.  
  
“It’s okay. It’s just, this Walkman was a gift from my mother. Well, not exactly. I had one Walkman similar to this one that was from my mother, but Ego, my father, broke it some years ago. Mantis, Gamora and Drax gifted me this one to replace the original.” Peter picked the Walkman and looked at it, his frown deepening for a second before he looked back at Thor. “But I have my music on the phone too.”  
  
Thor nodded slowly, he felt like he learned something important for Peter and didn’t like how that Ego man sounded, but decided to change the topic.  
  
“Can I hear some of your songs before Stark comes?” Peter’s frown was replaced by a proud smile and he passed him one of the earphones to him.  
  
“I thought you’d never ask.” Thor listened attentively and watched how Peter made a theatrical countdown with his fingers before clicking the play button.  
  
After the first song ended, Thor felt a bit guilty, because he realized he paid more attention to how Peter’s face changed in each song and was filled with emotion than to the songs themselves. With each new song that popped up on the Walkman, Peter had something to say about it: the title, when he liked to hear it, how it had a deeper meaning. And he mouthed to the lyrics with a bright smile and closed eyes. Thor couldn’t help but smile like an idiot. He had never seen Peter so enthusiast about something.  
  
“This tape was made by my mother with her favorite songs. She had a great taste.” Thor just nodded, amazed of the fondness and love Peter’s eyes had each time he mentioned his mother.  
  
Thor frowned when Stark appeared and Peter sighed after stopping the music. Then he noticed Stark was followed by Bruce and a teacher he didn’t recognize. Peter looked at him confused before focusing on Stark’s words.  
  
“I have bad news, guys.” Stark said before leaving the announcement to the unknown teacher.  
  
“The teaching group has the sad task to announce that tomorrow classes are cancelled as mourning for the loss of economics’ teacher Vision.” The class was filled with murmurs and Thor felt Peter tensing up by his side.  
  
“What happened to him?” Someone asked and the teacher just shook his head.  
  
“I’m not allowed to answer that question.” And after that, he said a quick goodbye and left.  
  
Stark kept talking to Bruce on the teacher’s desk while the whole class was going crazy, the voices slowly rising on volume.  
  
“Thor, are you thinking the same thing as me?” Peter voice was quiet.  
  
“We shouldn’t assume anything. We don’t know what happened.” Thor watched how Peter moved unsure on his seat, nervous, and he felt himself getting anxious too. “It would be too much of a coincidence.”  
  
Peter just shut up and looked at the Walkman on his hand sadly. Thor tried to say something more about the matter but Stark initiated the class.  
  
“Calm down. There’s nothing we can do about this sad event.” Stark gulped heavily, his voice dense and low. “We have to have this class and that’s we are going to do. But it’s Banner who is going to explain the subject today.”  
  
After that, Stark sat down on the table, opened his laptop and didn’t talk until Bruce ended the class.  


  
…  


  
One Saturday Thor was surprised with the incoming call of Peter popping up on his phone. Without hesitation, he just picked him up.  
  
“Hello?”  
  
“Hey, Thor.” Peter’s voice sounded through the phone. “I wanted to go to the cemetery. And I wondered if you’d like to come too.”  
  
All of a sudden, Thor realized which date it was. Gamora was found dead exactly a month ago. It made sense that Peter would like to go to visit the little forest the cemetery had for people to disperse the ashes of their loved ones. Thor felt honored to be the one Peter would ask for something like this.  
  
“Of course. I’ll be there when you want.”  
  
“Thank you, remind me where you live and I’ll go to pick you up and go.” Thor nodded though Peter couldn’t see him. Then, he gave him his direction.  
  
“Alright. See you soon.” Peter hung up and Thor prepared himself.  


  
…  


  
There they were, in silence, on the forest of cypresses. Peter had bought a bouquet of beautiful flowers and placed it on the ground, near where they remembered Nebula had dispersed the ashes. The atmosphere was solemn and melancholic. Thor waited patiently, watching how Peter touched gently the ground with a sad face. When Peter finally got up, he rubbed his face with his sleeves. Then he turned to look at Thor.  
  
“It’s alright. We can go now.” Peter seemed to be afraid to break the silence as his voice was low and quiet.  
  
“Could we visit someone else before going?” Thor asked in the same tone and Peter nodded after a second.  
  
“Lead the way.” Peter simply said and followed Thor closely.  
  
It wasn’t a too long walk before they arrived to their destination. In front of them, there was built a mausoleum. It wasn’t as big and sumptuous as the ones surrounding it, but it was clear it was made with care and detail. Thor got his keys out and went to open the door.  
  
“Is it your family’s?” He heard Peter’s impressed voice.  
  
“Yes. My grandparents built it themselves after having the permission from the cemetery.” Thor explained as the hinges of the door creaked eerily. “It was my grandparents who admired Norse mythology, so they embellished the place with its motifs. They also were the firsts of my family to choose cremation instead of burial, because it’s what Vikings did. I don’t know why they didn’t disperse the ashes on the ocean, though.”  
  
Peter nodded and hesitated for a few seconds after seeing Thor got inside the mausoleum. Curiosity won over his nervousness and approached slowly; then he peeked the inside. There were rows of spaces for the urns and some of them were filled. Thor was brushing the dust out of one of the spaces.  
  
“You can come inside if you want, you don’t have to stay out there.” His voice surprised him. He hesitated once again but finally went to Thor’s side.  
  
“Your brother?” Peter muttered and Thor nodded.  
  
“My brother, Loki.” He then turned and pointed another urn. “My father, Odin, and at his right, my mother, Frigga. My sister Hela is the only family I have now.”  
  
“And where is she?”  
  
“She’s in jail with a death penalty.” Thor looked back at Peter and saw the distress on his face. “It’s okay, we don’t have the best relationship anyways. She tried to blind me once.” That only helped to deepen the distress one Peter’s face and Thor decided to shut up before worsening the situation.  
  
His whole family was gone, like his own, Peter thought with sadness, but said nothing. A pang of remorse about what he had said about Loki came back, but he tried to ignore it. Anything he could think of was meaningless and useless, so why should he say anything? Now it was his turn to wait until Thor cleaned the three urns. After that, they left and Thor closed the mausoleum once again.  
  
“Do you want to come to my house?” Peter suggested once they were on his car. “I mean, I don’t have anything better to do.”  
  
“Me neither. I’d like to, Peter.” Thor smiled at him warmly, so he started to drive happily.  


  
…  


  
“Home, sweet home.” Peter announced once they arrived at his house and parked. “It’s small, it’s cheap and needs a little work on it but it’s home.” Thor smiled and got out the car. He inhaled deeply.  
  
“I like it. It has fresh air.” He commented.  
  
“And a lot of mosquitoes when it’s summer.” Peter fleered at him. “Having the woods near has it flaws too.” Thor just shrugged and smiled at him.  
  
Once Peter opened the door and they got inside, Thor got a warm feeling. Everything was welcoming, like a family lived there instead of a bunch of students. Things were tidy but it didn’t send a feeling of impersonality. It was really different from his home. Peter gave him a tour of the first floor and then showed him the backyard.  
  
“This is the best part of the house, because we have a huge backyard.” He said proudly as he got outside. “It has a broken wooden fence, so we can go easily to the forest and add it as ours.”  
  
Thor liked this place too. It had some plants growing on the side of the yard, a table with chairs and a really tall tree was growing in the middle of everything.  
  
“Mantis is the one who takes care of the plants and she named the tall tree Groot.” Peter explained while pointing at it. Suddenly, something went down from the tree.  
  
“What’s that? A rabbit?” Thor asked when an animal kept staring at them from one of the lowest branches.  
  
“Dude, a rabbit? Do you need glasses? He’s a raccoon. His name is Rocket. We rescued him when he was a baby and someone had run over his mother with a car.” Thor frowned at that, how awful.  
“We took care of him until he started to wander on the forest. Now, he comes here to get food, nuzzles and to climb Groot, then he leaves.”  
  
“He’s cute. I like him.” Thor kept looking at him and smiled once again.  
  
“He’s a smart asshole. If you don’t pet him when he wants he sits down on your face when you’re sleeping. And he likes to throw things to the floor just to see your reaction. It’s as if he mocks you. And he doesn’t like to meet new people, be careful he doesn’t bite you.”  
  
While Peter was talking, Rocket went down the tree and approached them cautiously. Thor crouched down to be at the animal’s level. He offered his hand to him and Rocket started to sniff it. Then, he rubbed his head against his hand and got inside the house.  
  
“Of course he would like you too.” Peter said exasperated. “Everyone loves you. How could I forget?”  
  
“Oh, don’t be like that. I’m sure everyone likes you too.” Thor tried to reassure Peter but the other one just huffed. “Don’t be jealous.”  
  
“Jealous? Me?!” And like that, Peter fall on Thor’s teasing, offended. “I’m one of the best dudes you’ll ever meet.”  
  
“I can’t deny it.” Thor patted Peter’s back before getting back to the house and heard him saying nonsense.  
  
“Of course you can’t deny it!” Peter said when he finally recovered his composure. Thor simply flashed him one of his smiles to ease the frown on his face, but this time it didn’t work. “You know, everyone says ‘Oh Thor is great’, ‘Thor is the best at everything’, ‘Look how handsome is Thor’! But that’s impossible! And I’m going to prove it by beating you at some videogames.”  
  
Thor stifled a laugh seeing how serious Peter was being and he sat down on the couch in front of the TV.  
  
“I accept the challenge.”  


  
…  


  
Peter frowned at the TV screen. He had won most of the rounds, yes, but the difference wasn’t as huge as he would like it to be.  
  
“Want to try better luck on another game?” He recovered a crooked smile, however, when he turned to look at Thor.  
  
“I don’t know.” Thor checked his phone with a resigned face. “It’s getting late, I should be going if I want to eat dinner at a decent hour.”  
  
“Oh.” Peter left the controller on the coffee table and rubbed his neck. “Well, Mantis is out on the hospital where she works as a volunteer and Drax left to do whatever he does on Saturdays, so no one is going to be tonight, and…” _‘I don’t want to be alone’ _Peter bit his tongue before saying it, looking back at Thor’s curious eyes. “So there are free bedrooms if you want to sleep here and then I wouldn’t have to drive you back to your home.”__  
  
Thor thought about it for a second. He thought about how quiet his apartment was and how empty and alone it made him feel. It didn’t seem like a bad idea, and maybe Peter wanted some support too on this date.  
  
“Okay, but what do you have for dinner?” Thor relaxed against the couch after leaving the controller with the other one and petted Rocket softly, who had been sleeping by his side the whole evening.  
  
“What kind of pizza do you like?” Peter picked his phone and opened the web of some pizza shop. “Please, don’t say pineapple pizza.”  
  
“Pineapple pizza is not bad and your hate is unjustified, but I’ll eat whatever you want.”  
  
“Oh my god, you really didn’t say that.” Peter got closer to Thor to show him the pizzas’ photos on his phone. “I’ll ignore you horrible taste and I’ll order this one. It’s my favorite.”  
  
“Looks good.” Thor approved the pizza with a nod. Peter quickly filled the order and sent it.  
  
“Now I can beat your ass some more until the pizza arrives.”  
  
Peter said mockingly and Thor just picked the controller once again. And they had time to play a few more rounds before the deliveryman arrived with their pizza.  
  
“Thank you.” Peter said to the man after paying him. When he left, he closed the door and a huge smile grew on his face. “Pizza!”  
  
“It smells awesome.” Thor chuckled and tidied the coffee table to make room for it.  
  
“Of course it does.” Peter left it on the table and started drooling when he opened it. Rocket, fast as a lighting, stole a slice and disappeared into the backyard. Peter cursed him and then looked back at the pizza.  
  
It had been a while since he last had eaten this pizza; it was at the last movie night before meeting Thor and everyone. It had been Gamora’s turn to choose the pizza but she picked it because she knew he loved it. Peter kept staring at the pizza, serious now.  
  
“Peter, are you okay?” Thor said by his side. He sighed and nodded. If he hadn’t been so self-centered everything would have turned better from the start, instead of creating unnecessary tensions. He took a slice and passed it to Thor, and then he picked one for himself.  
  
“Thor, you met Gamora so you know how amazing she was.” Peter tried to sound as casual as he could. “But I don’t know anything about Loki, how was he?”  
  
Thor looked at him with an indecipherable stare for a few seconds before taking a bit of his slice.  
  
“He was an awesome little brother. We were on bad terms on high school because he kept breaking my trust. When he finally turned eighteen he went to the jail because he tried to rob a jewelry shop; he was obsessed with a big sapphire they had in there.”  
  
“I don’t know a lot about brothers, but that doesn’t sound like a good one.” Peter muttered stunned. That escalated quickly.  
  
“He was adopted. That’s why he was desperate about getting recognition and thought our parents preferred me over him. He thought that if he had something that luxurious as the sapphire our parents would be awed.” Thor shrugged and licked his lips. “This pizza is really great.”  
  
“So your brother was in jail and now your sister? Are you sure the adopted one isn’t you?” Peter joked and laughed when he saw Thor’s eyes opening big and round.  
  
“That’s… not how it works. I think.” Thor scratched his beard on thought. “However, when he got out he was very repentant. My mother had died when he was in jail and he didn’t forgive himself for not being there with her, so he promised to behave.” Thor’s voice was filled with sadness. The atmosphere became uncomfortable and Peter focused on the food.  
  
“This is not the first time he had been dead. Once he fell from a bridge and we had to rush to the hospital. They had to give him electroshocks to reanimate him, but he turned out fine. My parents hadn’t been so worried since Loki threw at me a venomous snake when we were kids.”  
  
Peter stopped eating for a second.  
  
“He threw you a venomous snake.” He repeated deadpan.  
  
“Yes, it bit me on the leg and we had to go to the hospital.” Thor answered as if it was the most common thing in the world. “We had a lot of fun remembering it.”  
  
“You have a weird family.”  
  
“But they loved me as much as I loved me. Except for Hela.” Peter was tempted to ask about her, but he decided he should leave that for another time. “And what about your family? You have only talked about your mother.”  
  
“Long story short: my father Ego abandoned me and my mother when I was born so she had to raise me all alone. Then she died of cancer. I was fostered by Yondu, who was a bit rough and said he would eat me if I didn’t behave but he loved me and gave me everything he could. We didn’t have a lot of money. Then someday Ego appeared and said he was my father, he tricked me into thinking he had no options but to leave me and my mother alone. Later I found out he was a horrible person and his corrupted millionaire enterprise abused innocent people to the point of killing them. He also poisoned my mother through a professional killer which caused her cancer. I reported him and he lost the trial, so he is now in jail. Yondu was found dead one day and the police discovered Ego had hired another professional killer to take revenge on me, which caused his sentence to be for life. And here I am.”  
  
Thor just listened to Peter’s whole story in silence. He kept quiet even when he had finished and Peter returned to his new slice of pizza. He wasn’t prepared for such story. He tried to think about something to say but nothing came to his mind. He felt angry at Ego but mainly sad. He understood a bit better why Peter was so afraid of losing Gamora and why it messed so much with his mind.  
  
Peter picked the remote control and started to flick through the different channels before settling on a movie that was starting.  
  
“Don’t worry. It’s ancient history.” Peter’s voice was calm and his face neutral, but Thor didn’t believe him too much.  
  
Thor said nothing and they both focused on the movie, which happened to be a bad romcom. They calmed down after a few bad puns and started mocking all the plot holes it had. And when this movie finished they were sprawled on the couch, laughing out loud.  
  
“I can’t believe that just happened. I want the drugs this director had, please.” Peter laughed, lying on the couch with a leg over Thor’s ones.  
  
“Shh! It’s going to start another one.” Thor pointed to the commercial informing of a romcom marathon on that channel that night.  
  
Peter become more aware about the situation they were when the hand Thor had pointed to the TV came to rest on his leg at the same time the woman on the commercial talked about being the perfect night to be with your loved one. He hesitated between sitting up properly and moving his leg from Thor’s lap or letting it be. They were just friends and he still loved Gamora, right? So it wasn’t a problem. He was comfortable on his current position, so he just ignored it and focused on watching the new movie.  
  
Peter didn’t know when Thor had fallen asleep during the third movie but he noticed how he had stopped laughing and his breathing had relaxed. He decided that it was a good idea just to close his eyes for a second, to rest his sight, before getting up, waking him and showing him Drax bedroom. But it was obviously a bad idea and he just fell asleep too.  


  
...  


  
“Oh my god, look at them. They’re so cute!” Thor opened lazily his eyes at the sound of voices near him, light blinding him for an instant. “They are waking up! Quick, take more photos.”  
  
“What the…?” Another voice came from his side and he turned to see a very sleepy Peter rubbing his eyes, confused.  
  
When he looked up at the source of the laughing he realized what was happening. There were Drax and Mantis looking and pointing at them with their phones up and taking pictures of them.  
  
“Good morning to you too?” He mumbled lazily but woke himself up when Peter suddenly got up and nearly fell to the floor because of the rush.  
  
“Delete that photos in this instant!” Peter demanded but they just laughed more loudly.  
  
“Why? You are so cute, Peter!” Mantis said hiding her phone behind her back.  
  
“I’m not…! Just!” Thor saw how flushed Peter was and he kind of wanted to have that pictures too. He would ask about it to Mantis later. “Thor! Help me!”  
  
“I can’t coerce someone to delete anything.” He said with a smirk. He had had fun last night and he wanted his reminder of it.  
  
“I can’t stand any of you, I swear!” 

  
…  


  
Mantis and Drax shared knowing looks between them. In front of them there was Peter looking at his phone with a fixed stare. And on the phone? The new profile pic of Thor. It couldn’t be more obvious and Drax couldn’t help but open his mouth to say what everyone thought on their home, except Peter.  
  
“You like Thor.” Peter lifted suddenly his stare to him, shocked, and got his headphones off.  
  
“What?” He asked with a thin voice.  
  
“You like Thor.” Mantis repeated Drax’s words with a gentle smile.  
  
“No, I don’t.” Peter quickly answered.  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“What the hell, Drax? Because I do not like him.” Peter made exaggerated gestures and movements as if it would help him to convince him.  
  
“That’s not what you looking at his shirtless profile pic for one solid minute indicate.” Mantis tried to be as kind and understanding as she could, but the evidence spoke itself.  
  
“But I’m straight.” Peter changed his strategy and said serious.  
  
“Straight as the rainbow.” Drax said simply and Peter shook his head.  
  
“I can’t believe where having this conversation.” He picked his headphones again. “And I’m going to end it now.”  
  
He could hear faintly Drax and Mantis talking between them, but he ignored them. He looked at his phone again and saw the profile pic for a few seconds before locking the screen. He was staring at the pic because Loki was in there too. They looked like they were on the beach and Loki was taking the photo of both of them. It wasn’t he fault Thor was more visible than his brother. However, any discussion about the matter didn’t have sense because he was straight.  


  
…  


  
Peter checked his messages when his phone started vibrating as if it had no other function. He had a ton of Thor’s messages telling him to turn on the TV on a certain channel, so he did. And the reporter informed that his suspicions were right: Vision had been the last victim of the serial killer, but the news didn’t inform anything because the police thought they had a trail, but in the end they lost it.  
  
They spent the whole evening letting their hate and anger turn into insults and threats to the killer in their chat. When would that son of a bitch have enough violence?  


  
…  


  
Thor was getting ready to get in bed when he received a call from Mantis. He picked it smiling.  
  
“Hello!”  
  
“Hi, Thor.” His smile faded when he heard how urgent and worried her voice sounded. “Is Peter with you or do you know where he is?”  
  
“No, he’s not. I haven’t talked with him since this morning, why?” Thor felt a bad omen growing on him.  
  
“He left home to buy something two hours ago and he didn’t come back. He doesn’t pick his phone. We don’t know where he is, Thor.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Worst week to be suddenly busy, I guess.  
> But here it is the new chapter! Finally!  
> Thanks for clicking

  
When the call with Mantis ended, Thor hurriedly dialed Steve, pacing his entire apartment. He couldn’t believe Peter was missing. Why everyone near him ended disappearing? Maybe he was jinxed?  
  
“Thor?”  
  
“Steve, Peter’s missing.” He said instantly and tried to focus on being calm, but it wasn’t working.  
  
“Who is Peter?” Steve voice sounded confused.  
  
“My friend!” Thor sat down on the couch but immediately stood up to continue pacing. He stared at the front door for a second. He needed to look for him. “He had gone to the grocery shop two hours ago and he didn’t come back. It’s dark outside and he doesn’t answer the phone.” He heard Steve sighing and Thor chewed his cheek. He didn’t like to abuse their friendship but this was important.  
  
“Thor, I can’t do anything if he had disappeared for only two hours and you know it.” Yes, Thor knew it, but he was worried. “Look. I can hear in your voice that you are concerned. I’m busy right now, but I’ll try to send someone there to do a quick check.”  
  
“… Fine.” Thor said resigned, finally stopping his walk and he looked out of one of the windows. “I’m going to go there and look for him too.”  
  
“That’s not-” Steve sighed again and Thor heard some noise through the phone. “I don’t have time to argue. Just send me the directions where your friend had disappeared. And be careful.”  
  
Thor did as Steve had requested and then put on a coat before getting out of his home. It was freezing outside, his breath condensing in front of him, but he didn’t care. He called a taxi and went to meet Mantis and Drax on their house.  
  
They were waiting for him outside but the whole house had the lights on. After a short greeting, they went to trace every road that led to the grocery shop but there wasn’t anyone anywhere. They looked even through the dark streets that didn’t have any streetlights and they only found cats rummaging on the trash cans. When two more hours passed without any trace they went back to their house, in silence and fearing what could have happened. Thor looked at the crescent moon and sighed, dread setting on his stomach.  
  
“I’m sure he’s alright…” Mantis muttered quietly once they arrived there. Thor couldn’t open his mouth to say anything, he didn’t have the energy.  
  
“He knows how to take care of himself.” Drax rubbed her shoulders caringly, but with a serious expression. Thor nodded slowly and checked his phone.  
  
There was a message from Steve telling him that he could send one policeman there. That seemed to relax Mantis a bit, but Thor wasn’t that confident. They waited patiently for the police car to arrive and when it finally came, Thor recognized the cop as Steve’s coworker. He didn’t remember his name.  
  
“You are Thor, right? And you must be Peter’s friends too.” The policeman asked and Thor just agreed. “My name is Bucky Barnes. Steve had told me everything you said to him, but I need to know how he looks like and ask some questions before you can go.”  
  
“It’s alright.” Drax said. “We’ll tell you everything.”  
  
“Thank you for coming.” Mantis forced a smile, Barnes nodded.  
  
The questions went like they usually did. How, when and where was the last time they saw Peter, if he seemed troubled or had expressed any desire to leave their home, and a long etcetera. They answered with everything they remembered, but it wasn’t too much information. Drax and Peter were watching TV and Mantis was taking a shower when Peter got up and told Drax he was going to buy something on the grocery store. He didn’t specify what he wanted from there. He didn’t answer Drax messages and when it got too late, he called him several times, but he never picked it up. Barnes nodded and took brief notes of everything. Thor didn’t know what to think about the neutral expression of the cop. Barnes didn’t say anything and it was getting on Thor’s nerves.  
  
“I think that’s enough. I’ll patrol this place to look for anything suspicious, but if tomorrow your friend doesn’t appear I will get more police to cover the area more thoroughly.” Barnes looked tired. “I’ll tell you if I find something important. You can go home now.”  
  
“I want to go with you.” Thor demanded unequivocally. Barnes stared at him for a second and he could see the annoyance on his eyes.  
  
“No, you leave it to me. I won’t babysit you.” Thor couldn’t believe what he had heard. Babysit him? Who did he think he was?  
  
“But-!” He needed to know if Peter was alright, he needed to find him.  
  
“No. I don’t care if you are Steve’s friend. It could be dangerous and I can’t be looking after you.” Barnes interrupted him with no hesitation and cold eyes. Thor bit his tongue before saying anything he knew he would regret later.  
  
“Okay.” He just said and Barnes got inside his car once again to say something on the radio, and then with a wave he went on a dark alley.  
  
Thor just stared at his back with a fulminating glare.  
  
“It’s okay, Thor. He’s a cop; he knows what he is doing.” Mantis tried to say reassuringly, but it didn’t make any effect on his anger.  
  
They offered him the possibility to sleep there, but he refused. He said he needed his backpack to go the next day to class but it was a lie. He was going to search for Peter a bit more. He didn’t care about what that stupid man had to say. If he looked for Peter too they would have more chances on finding him. He went down all the streets near the grocery store once again, avoiding Barnes, but only found nothing. When he realized it, the sun was rising on the sky. He had to go to class that day. He just gritted his teeth and went home to pick the things he needed. He wasn’t giving up. After college, he would keep looking for him, but this time he would go farer.  


  
…  


  
Bucky yawned when it began to get light. On the police station everyone was getting crazier each passing day with the huge amount of work that they had lately. It was the second sleepless night of the week that he had spent working. He really doubted everything serious had happened to that Quill kid, and he had a lot of paperwork waiting for him on the office that was more urgent than this case, probably. He turned on a street to look for him a last time, now that he had more light and could see better. Quill probably just found some pretty girl or boy and went to have some fun. The problem was that Steve really couldn’t say no to his friends, and though it got them in lots of troubles, it was something Bucky liked about him, so he just accepted the task when he asked him.  
  
He noticed a plastic bag from the grocery store by the trash can. He sighed and poked it with his foot. A bucket of chocolate ice cream that was starting to melt rolled out of the bag. He picked it to see it hadn’t expired. The receipt inside the bag was a bit dirty but the part of the hour of the purchase was clean, and it coincided with the hour of Quill’s disappearance.  
  
Bucky sighed and rubbed his cold face, tired. The last thing they needed was more work. He picked his radio and informed the station of what he had found. Searching the floor for any clue, he saw a bit of a dark substance on it. Crouching down he found that it was blood and Bucky frowned. He must have missed it for water when it was still night time. Things got ugly in a second and Bucky knew he wouldn’t have the chance to take a break soon.  


  
…  


  
After napping through his last class, Thor went directly to the grocery store to start looking for Peter again. When he arrived and saw two police cars he knew they had found something and that something was probably bad, his stomach twisted. He saw Barnes on one of the cars, talking through the radio and with a cup of coffee on his other hand. He approached him and heard through the open window his annoyed voice demanding more police to be able to search on the woods too, but it seemed he wasn’t having luck. With a huff, he hung up the radio and took a sip of his coffee.  
  
“Excuse me, Barnes.” Thor called him from outside of the car. He looked at him and sighed strained. “Could you tell me if you have found something about my friend, please?”  
  
“Yes.” Barnes opened the door to get out and then stretched his limbs lazily. “We found his purchase left on a street and some blood drops too that are probably from him. The lab is analyzing it.”  
  
“… Blood?” Thor felt himself paling. No, not another death, please. Peter couldn’t be dead. Anything but that.  
  
“I think he’s still alive. It’s probably from some small scrap or cut.” Barnes tried to calm him, but Thor’s mind was already going on about everything that could have gone wrong. “Look, you can’t help us here. Go back with your friends. Tell them the news and try to relax. We are going to find him.”  
  
Thor couldn’t even protest against that. He was scared. He just turned around and went to Mantis and Drax home, his mind blank and his legs slow, trying to win over the concern. His mind tried to convince his heart that Peter was okay, but it wouldn't slow down.  


  
…  


  
The first thing he felt when he woke up was the numb pain on the back of his head. Then, he felt the rope squeezing his wrists. He opened suddenly his eyes and tried to move his hands, but he couldn’t.  
  
Feeling dizzy, he realized he was on an unknown empty room. It was probably some kind of basement. Everything was dark and the only light that allowed him to see was coming from a small closed window on the top of the wall. He was immobilized on a chair and he tried to fight against the rope on his wrists but it didn’t loosen. The cold metal from the chair gave him shivers.  
  
He then shouted and screamed at the silent room with all of his lungs, but no one seemed to hear him. The room was spinning in front of his eyes, whoever had kidnapped him must have hit the back of his head, Peter supposed. He could only wait, and he did it for hours, leaving him alone with his scared thoughts.  
  
Nobody came.  
  
Until someone did.  
  
The heavy door cracked open and a huge man appeared in front of him. The first thing Peter noticed was the stupid purple rubber mask he was wearing to hide his face. The second was the long pole on his hand. He prepared himself to act tough; he couldn’t let the man know he was terrified.  
  
“Who the fuck are you!? Let me go!” Peter spitted at him, narrowing his eyes when the man remained still. Then, he slowly closed the door.  
  
“I’m here to help the world.” The deep voice of the man surprised him after a few seconds of silence.  
  
“What are you saying, jerk?!” Peter tried to untie himself once more, but it didn’t work. The burning on his wrists from the rope made him more aware of the disadvantaged situation. “I want to go!”  
  
“I can’t let you go even if I wanted. There are cops everywhere and I can’t risk on being discovered.” The man’s calm voice was shocking him.  
  
“What?! I don’t fucking care!”  
  
“You don’t have to be scared. Your death is going to be painless.”  
  
Peter opened his mouth in disbelief. His voice was shaking now, the anger quickly replaced by frighten. He couldn’t help but drop his façade.  
  
“W-What do you mean with my death?” He gulped and looked to the window. It had a grille. “I-I’ll do whatever you want. Just. Don’t kill me, okay? I’m not worth the effort.”  
  
“Tonight I’m going to give you your last dinner, so think about what you want for it and I’ll get it.”  
  
Ignoring Peter’s protests, the man left the room. A clicking sound told Peter he had been left locked in even if he was tied.  
  
What hour was it? Peter didn’t know how much time he had left. He had to think a good plan fast. He couldn’t use the window because it had a grille. He couldn’t use the door because it was locked. He had to wait for the man to open it.  
  
But what would he do? He was tied and it was really tight. He started to force the rope once again, ignoring the stinging and shutting his eyes. He had to try it because there was no other option. The chair was made of metal so he couldn’t break it even if he crashed it into a wall. At least his legs weren’t tied, he thought with fake relief. However, he wouldn’t go very far even if he knocked the man down with the chair if he had to carry it on his back.  
  
He wouldn’t give up. He was going to get out of there. He was sure. He had gotten out of very ugly situations and this wasn’t going to be the exception. Even if the burning from his wrists gave him tears of pain. He needed to be alive for Mantis and Drax. They needed him to be with them. Thor needed him too. And Peter needed them.  


  
…  


  
Hours passed and no one had any trace. Bucky was getting more frustrated with each passing minute. Although he told Odinson to go with his friends to relax, he came back with them to keep asking how they were going and he didn’t need that in this moment. He also remembered fewer friends than the ones that showed up. He had a headache forming and when Steve called him saying they needed him back on the station as soon as possible he was getting desperate. If only that serial killer gave himself a vacation, but no. He was killing with more frequency, and that gave them more work.  
  
He gulped down the fifth coffee of the day. At least he had some police looking on the woods now. He gave himself another walk, looking for any kind of clue. If they didn’t find anything before nighttime he would go to his home, sleep for the first time in more than 24 hours and go back to the police station and do his damn paper work.  
  
“Can we go with you?” The sweet voice of Mantis startled him for a second. He was so tired he didn’t notice her on his side. When he realized what she had said, he just groaned.  
  
“You have been ignoring what I said the whole day.” He just said tired. “Do whatever you like, I don’t care anymore. But please. Do it quietly.”  
  
He would have found the surprised faces from the group of friends funny if he wasn’t so strained. Dinner time was getting near and he couldn’t but wish it came already to take a break.  


  
…  


  
Peter nearly cheered when he felt the ropes loosening after all the pain he had to endure. Slowly, he wriggled his hand through the space he had created and though it still scratched his hand and had to force it, he finally had his hand free. He looked at it and saw the painful mark it had left on his wrist: drips of blood were coming through the small but many cuts and the skin had turned into an angry red. He freed his other hand as fast as he could. He had thought that it wouldn't work, but he could now escape.  
  
All of the sudden he hid his hands on his back when he heard voices coming from the other side of the door. He recognized the man’s voice, but he didn’t know who the other male he was talking to was. He psyched himself up to run in the moment the door opened when it slowly did to show the same man with the purple mask entering the room with a tray that had the pizza Peter had requested as his last dinner. However, he didn’t intend to eat it anyways. It probably was poisoned.  
  
When the door finally opened enough for him to escape, Peter jumped out of the chair and tackled the man, throwing him on the floor as he yelled surprised. He grabbed the first thing he saw, the metal try, and attacked him with it until he heard voices coming to the room. He dropped the tray and resumed his ran away up some stairs, leaving the man on the floor groaning and barely moving. Upstairs, he found himself on a cute house he didn’t have time to appreciate and jumped out of a window. He wouldn’t risk getting caught to look for a door that would be probably closed.  
  
He fell to the ground covered on shattered glass but didn’t give himself a break before starting running again. He recognized the streets, he was near home. He turned on a corner and bumped on someone.  
  
“Peter?!”  
  
Looking up he saw a policeman, and then he saw Drax, Thor and Mantis. He felt a sudden wave of joy. He was with them. He was safe.  
  
“What had happened, Quill?” The policeman asked him and he stared at him for a second before telling him everything as calmly and organized as he could. That he was kidnapped and where the house was. “Okay, you’re safe now. Go with your friends to the place the police cars are. You’ll have to tell them the same story, okay? I’m going to check the house you said.” The policeman nodded at them and then he informed of the situation on the radio. He turned the corner and left.  
  
“Peter!” Before he could realize it he had Mantis hugging him and crying on his shoulder. “We were so worried!”  
  
“Don’t worry, I’m here.” Peter muttered to her before returning her hug with a smile. He felt the anxiety fading slowly.  
  
“If you disappear again the one that is going to kill you is me! You hear me!” Drax said after joining the hug, laughing aloud and relieved. Peter grinned shyly, tearing of happiness.  
  
He looked up and saw Thor smiling goofily at him and then he suddenly hugged all of them too. Everyone was laughing, relieving the stress. Peter was sure he never had been so happy to see his friends’ faces.  
  
“We have to go back there. Bruce, Natasha and Clint were worried sick too.” Thor said when the hug ended. Peter looked surprised at him.  
  
“They are here too?”  
  
“Of course.” Drax answered with his bright smile. “Nebula’s came to look for you too.”  
  
Peter just stared at them amazed. He hadn’t realized he had that much people that cared about him. It warmed his heart and couldn’t help but cry a lot more. He felt so lucky in that moment. He looked at the happy smiles his friends had and he felt eased. He got away from a mad man that wanted to kill him to come with a lot of friends.  
  
When they arrived at the place the policeman said, he saw them waiting for him, their faces brightening and they talked to him all at once, making it difficult to listen to them.  
  
“You’re safe!”  
  
“We were so worried.”  
  
“Dude, no one is going to let you go get ice cream alone one again.”  
  
Peter just smiled at him and reassured them he was alright. His wrists hurt and he had some cuts on his arms from jumping out of the window, but with a quick visit to the hospital everything would be fine. Natasha patted his back proudly when he told them how he won against the big man and ran away, even if Bruce paled and looked horrified.  
  
“I thought I have lost you too.” When Nebula finally talked it surprised Peter. They hadn’t talk too much since Gamora’s death. He thought the woman hated him.  
  
“You’ll have to try harder if you want to get rid of me.” Peter joked but Nebula frowned, confusing him.  
  
“Don’t say that. You’re my friend too. I’m not sorry about what I said to you last time, but you are still my friend and I worry about you.” Peter was left speechless, but before anyone could say anything, another policeman approached them running.  
  
“Thor! I heard about it!” The blonde man said to Thor, who turned to him with a big smile.  
  
“Yes! He’s here!” Thor surrounded his shoulders with his arm and moved him closer to him, causing some shivers to run down his back. “Thanks for sending Bucky to help us, Steve.” His voice was gentle.  
  
“That’s what friends are for. Nice to meet you, Peter.” Steve offered his hand to him and he shook it without hesitation. “Speaking of friends, do you know where Bucky is?”  
  
“He left to catch the kidnapper alone a few minutes ago.” Peter saw how Steve’s smile changed suddenly to a worried frown.  
  
“All alone?” Peter nodded, feeling scared once again. “That idiot is going to… Excuse me, I have to get him.”  
  
However, in the moment Steve turned to look for Bucky he appeared from a corner and went running to them, waving his arm.  
  
“Steve, it’s great you are already here! We have found the place and I think it probably is the base of the serial killer. We should go and-” Bucky was telling him with a giant smile before Steve interrupted him with a scowl.  
  
“Bucky. You shouldn’t have gone alone to arrest someone. We have talked about this. You are lucky you can still be a policeman after the arm injury. You had to wait for me.” Bucky face changed to a repentant one, looking down.  
  
“But no one was there when I arrived. They had disappeared.”  
  
“I don’t care, Bucky. What if they had been still there and your arm had failed you again? I don’t want to have you on the hospital.” Peter was getting really uncomfortable listening to the conversation, but it was happening in front of them, so he didn’t have that much of an option. “And also, when was the last time you slept? You have bags under your eyes.”  
  
“Steve, please…” Bucky pointed at them with his eyes and then looked back at Steve. “We can talk about this later. We have work.”  
  
Steve sighed but stopped scolding him to turn to them. The frown was replaced with a friendly smile.  
  
“Sorry. I got carried away.” Thor nodded and Peter shrugged. “Quill, do you have any relatives you could stay with? It’s a bad idea that you keep living near this place. If Bucky’s suppositions are correct, it’s the first time someone escaped from the serial killer and we don’t know if the man could come back seeking revenge.”  
  
“I don’t have family.” Peter muttered quietly. Where was he going to live? And he didn’t like the idea of leaving Mantis and Drax there. They would have to pay more rent and they didn’t have that much money…  
  
“You can come to my apartment.” Thor offered and Peter looked to him surprised. “I have a free room.”  
  
“It’s a good idea; Thor lives far enough from this place.” Steve agreed with him, and then looked at Peter. “What do you think?”  
  
“I uh… Okay.” He answered numbly. It seemed as a good idea, yes, but he wasn’t sure. All of it seemed rushed, but he didn’t have a lot of options either.  
  
“We have to ask you a few questions about everything on the police station but you are safe now.” Steve comforted him with a smile.  


  
…  


  
When they finished answering the questions, Peter got taken care of his wounds and said goodbye to their friends, they went to Thor’s apartment and Peter found himself unsurprised when he saw the entire apartment was a mess. It was a shame, because he noticed the apartment was huge and it had nice decorations, but they were buried under tons of papers, clothes, bags of chips and beer cans.  
  
“You are living in a garbage dump.” It was the first thing that came out of his mouth after stepping inside the place. Thor looked at him and had the decency to look a bit ashamed.  
  
“Loki was the clean one.” He tried to use as an excuse but Peter wasn’t buying it. This was beyond tolerable. Thor then pointed to a closed door. “Oh, and this was his room, where you are going to live for now, if that’s okay with you. You can move Loki’s things to a side of the wardrobe to make room for your things.”  
  
“Yeah, no problem.” He opened the door and saw the inside of the room.  
  
It had to be the only tidy part of the apartment. It had a nice big bed, a desk and a big wardrobe that was filled with Loki’s clothes. The walls didn’t have any paintings or posters. It was kind of empty in reality. He left the suitcase with his clothes and the things he needed on the floor before starting to organize everything.  
  
When he finally had everything on their places and went outside the room, he saw that Thor actually had made an effort to tidy most of the things. At least there weren’t dirty dishes and clothes everywhere. An incredible smell was coming from the kitchen and there he saw Thor making something to eat dinner.  
  
“You know how to cook. Incredible.” Peter teased going to his side and see what he was making. Some scrambled eggs with vegetables.  
  
“Of course. And everything I cook it’s delicious.” Peter laughed at that.  
  
“You’ll have to prove it.”  
  
And when Thor finished and they ate the dinner, it was really good. Not the best, but it was tasty.  
  
“Man, it’s the first meal of the day I’m having and it’s great.” Peter complimented, finally filling his stomach and Thor looked proud and happy.  
  
They had dinner calmly, having a nice chat and when they finished their dishes Peter yawned, feeling the exhaustion.  
  
“I think I’m going to bed right now, I’m really tired.” He got up and placed his dishes on the sink.  
  
“Yeah, you deserve it, go ahead.” Thor wished him a goodnight with a smile and Peter did the same.  
  
When he finally got under the covers, he fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes, relaxed knowing that someone as strong as Thor was on the other room.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like it? I hope so!  
> This chapter didn't have a lot of growth between Thor and Peter but in the next ones you are going to have it!  
> Also, I hope the characters aren't OOC, I don't know if I made a good work with Bucky


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the huge delay I don't know what im doing with my life  
> I hope you like it

  
Thor turned around on his bed and groaned in his dark room. His throat was dry. He tried to ignore it and relax, but the thirst proved to be stronger than his will to keep in bed and he sat up. The alarm by his bed showed it was 3 in the morning. He lazily got up and went to the kitchen to fetch a refreshing glass of water when he saw a figure on the couch staring at him. He stopped on his tracks, trying to recover from the small shock before remembering Peter was living with him now.  
  
“Peter, you scared me.” Thor said quietly, not wanting to disturb the silent peace of the night.  
  
“Sorry.” He answered with big eyes and hugging his legs on an attempt to hide himself.  
  
“Why are you up?” Thor picked the glass of the cupboard and filled it with water.  
  
“I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep.” Peter said with fake nonchalantly. Thor knew how Peter behaved when he was worried about something, and that was how he behaved right now.  
  
“Peter, you’re safe here…” He drank the water and neared his friend. Peter just shrugged.  
  
“I know.”  
  
“Do… Do you want me to make you company?” Peter looked up at him and then down to his feet, hesitantly, but Thor waited until he answered.  
  
“… I mean, if you want to.”  
  
Thor nodded and sat down with him on the couch, seeing how Peter started to relax slowly. He patted his shoulder and his friend leaned into the touch a bit, closing his eyes. Thor didn’t know how long they stayed like that, in silence and touching him, hearing the occasional car on the streets and the soft breeze against the windows before he fell asleep.  


  
…  


  
Peter couldn’t help it but feel anxious when he was alone. Someone could think that, after everything that happened to him in his adolescence, he would be used to danger and loneliness, but he wasn’t. You never got used to something like that. He remembered feeling vulnerable on that steel chair and he swore sometimes his wrists burned as if he wore that rope again. Some nights he had nightmares about that huge man with the purple mask and the pole he had when he first met him. In some nightmares he got caught running away, in some others he couldn’t even run away. In all nightmares, he died horribly.  
  
That’s why he was always with someone he trusted. It made him feel safer. He wouldn’t admit it even to himself, but he knew he felt defenseless.  
  
And who happened to be with him most hours? Thor. Fucking big Thor with huge muscles. He seemed like the perfect bodyguard, but Peter was getting nervous around him and he didn’t know why. Thor would never hurt a fly, unless it was on self-defense. It was a stupid feeling that he hoped would decrease with time. However, weeks passed and it increased somehow. And Peter wasn’t stupid; he slowly realized it wasn’t the same kind of nervousness he got on a dark alleyway or when he was alone in an empty street.  
  
The realization struck him full one night, sitting in the couch watching a movie with Thor, when their hands touched. He quickly returned his hand on his lap and Thor didn’t seem to notice anything, but he felt hot and his heart started to race and butterflies started to fly inside him and _oh god he was fucked_.  
  
It was a similar nervousness to the one he got when he started dating Gamora.  
  
But that couldn’t be. He was straight. He had always been straight. He felt like that because Thor was making him safe, because he let him on his house. He felt like that because the last few months had been a fucking mess and he wasn’t the best at managing his emotions.  
  
He fought the urge to touch his hand again, to even hold it. He resisted the want to cuddle with him and focused his eyes on the movie instead on Thor’s eyes and lips.  
  
He tried to convince himself about how it was impossible for him to love another man, especially Thor, on the quiet moments on the bed before getting asleep, when his brain decided to make his life a bit harder by overthinking.  
  
He sighed and turned to his side. Everything would come to how it was before. Everything would be alright.  


  
…  


  
Bruce sipped his coffee while listening to Thor’s rant about how the last electric bill had increased because some short of legal change or however. Bruce didn’t understand that much of business things, and he lived in the campus student housing, anyways. He waited until Thor finished and drank from his cup to talk to him.  
  
“Peter’s living with you now; you use more electricity than before, right?” Thor was going to say something but Bruce wasn’t ready for another rant, so he decided to stop him. “How is him? I mean, what is like living with him?”  
  
Thor closed his mouth and grinned, a new light behind his eyes and Bruce lifted an eyebrow.  
  
“It’s great! He is really tidy and helps me with every chore. I hadn’t had my home as clean as it is now for months! And we study a bit together before we play some videogames. It’s like having the longest sleepover. Peter’s awesome, man. I wish he could live with me as long as he can.” He seemed really excited and kept talking wonders about the other man, and Bruce had to hold back his laugh. He had known it from the start, but now it was beyond obvious.  
  
“Dude, do you have a crush on him or something? You can’t stop talking about him.” Thor closed his mouth and looked surprised before a small frown settled on his face.  
  
“We’re just friends.” He looked down to his cup and Bruce felt a bit guilty about the mood change.  
  
“You don’t seem happy about that.” Thor just sighed.  
  
“Oh, shut up. Peter surely is straight.”  
  
Bruce opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t think anything, so he shut up. He was glad Thor changed the conversation topic before resuming drinking his coffee.  


  
…  


  
Peter yawned and stretched as he got up from the bed one Saturday morning. Rubbing his eyes, he opened his room’s door and felt his mouth opening when he saw the giant Christmas tree on the room. It was taller than him and he probably couldn’t surround it with his arms, and by his side there was a huge box full of decorations.  
  
He looked from the tree to the box and to Thor, who was eating cereals on the table like nothing was out of ordinary.  
  
“Thor.” He called him and Thor smiled at him, listening. “Christmas is in 21 days.”  
  
“I know, right?!” Thor looked happy and excited and Peter only could look at him in disbelief.  
  
“… This… This is awesome!” Peter looked back at the tree and got a ball out of the box, grinning. “How is it this big?”  
  
“I have everything big.” Thor answered and Peter turned to look at him slowly, his smile disappeared and replaced by a flustered look. He felt his heart pounding against his chest.  
  
“… What?” His voice came out thin and quiet but Thor didn’t seem to notice his distress as he laughed.  
  
“Big trees! Big Snowman! Big stars!” He pointed to the box and Peter looked at it. Yeah, maybe the decorations were bigger than usual. “I was waiting for you to start decorating.”  
  
Peter looked back at Thor, feeling his face still hot. Of course his mind would trick him into thinking Thor meant something else with that. He forced a natural smile to his face to replace the nervous one. He was stupid.  
  
“That sounds good, man.”  
  
Thor gulped the final cereals and left his bowl on the sink before coming to his side and getting a large garland out of the box.  
  
“I used to force Loki into decorating with me. He said he was too old for these childish things, but I think it’s good to have some fun.” Thor said while going around the tree, placing the garland on it and tiptoeing slightly to reach the top of the tree.  
  
“Yondu had a tiny plastic tree that was already filled with three balls and the star. He didn’t really like Christmas but he wanted to give me something that remembered me of my mom.” Peter picked a big red ball and looked for the best place for it. “When I moved in with Mantis and Drax, we tried to decorate Groot every Christmas but Rocket always threw the decorations to us, the little trash panda.”  
  
Thor laughed softly, imagining the scene with everyone running under a rain of balls.  
  
“That sound fun.”  
  
“It’s fun until he hits you with a star on the head.” Peter snorted, shaking his head.  
  
Thor made a sound of agreement and they continued to decorate in silence. Peter could swear the box was magic, because not matter how many decorations they placed on the tree, there were still a ton of balls and bells and stars inside. He picked a bell and jumped to place it near the top of the tree, but he couldn’t reach it.  
  
“Need help?” Thor looked at him amused and Peter scoffed.  
  
“Pass me a chair or something.” He tried to jump again when he felt a pair of hands lifting him from his waist. “What the fuck Thor?!”  
  
“I’m helping you!” He said laughing and Peter felt his face burning as his feet didn’t touch the floor. Thor’s grip sent him shivers and made his stomach tingle. Quickly, he placed the bell where he had intended since the start and turned his head to watch Thor, squinting his eyes.  
  
“Let me down!” Peter demanded and Thor obeyed.  
  
When Peter had his feet on the floor once again, he looked down to the box to avoid looking at Thor, who had that silly smile on his face that indicated he was satisfied. When Peter made sure Thor resumed placing the decorations on the other side of the tree and couldn’t see him, he rubbed his face. That wasn’t supposed to happen; he shouldn’t have felt like that. What the hell was wrong with him? Maybe Mantis and Drax were right about his sexuality...? Of course not.  
  
“Peter,” Thor calm voice startled him “where are you going to spend your Christmas holidays?”  
  
Peter hesitated for a second before answering, focusing too much on the garland on his hands.  
  
“I don’t know. I don’t really have family to visit, so I suppose I’ll spend it with Mantis and Drax. Their families live too far from here and their relationships aren’t the best, so we usually spend them here.”  
  
“Maybe you could come here.” Thor suggested. “I won’t visit any relative either, and my apartment is safer than your house. We could celebrate Christmas Eve together.”  
  
Peter thought about it for a few seconds, remaining silent.  
  
“Where are they going to sleep?”  
  
“I’ll sleep in the couch and they can sleep on my bed.” Thor shrugged, picking a ball from the box. “I also have an airbed we could use.”  
  
“… Okay. I’ll ask them if they want to.”  
  
“Perfect!” Thor exclaimed with a huge smile and Peter couldn’t help but stare at it, mesmerized.  
  
He had the feeling this was going to be a great Christmas.  


  
…  


  
Christmas Eve finally had come and everyone was excited. A nice smell of ginger cookies and chocolate was in the streets and every shop. Thor and Peter received a lot of messages from everyone with pictures of them with their families and the food that were being prepared. Natasha sent them a photo of her spider pet on her parents’ house.  
  
Peter had always liked Christmas and exchanging gifts, but he felt giddy with the present he made for Thor on his hands. The USB seemed to weight more than usual and he couldn’t help but fidget with it inside his jacket’s pocket.  
  
Mantis and Drax had already arrived and they were trashing the kitchen with Thor, each one trying to make something completely different and it wasn’t really working. Mantis was mixing the dough for her famous chocolate cake, Drax was peeling some potatoes but if someone asked Peter, he would say he was smashing them raw. Thor was preheating the oven for the meat. Peter was just watching them, getting more nervous with each passing second. He would have to clean that mess, he knew it, and it didn’t amused him.  
  
And the USB on his pocket, that made him nervous too.  
  
He looked at the messy decorated tree, and under it, there were the presents everyone picked. He didn’t put the USB on there because he felt it was too personal and he knew Mantis and Drax would pressure Thor into checking it with everyone and he wouldn’t be able to bear it. He picked every song really carefully, and he recorded a secret track thanking him for letting him stay on his home. Maybe it was too much considering they knew each other for less than a year, but it just felt right. Thor had helped him a lot even if they didn’t start with the best terms.  
  
“Drax! Don’t eat the dough!” Mantis voice brought Peter back to reality and saw a very guilty looking Drax with his hands behind his back.  
  
“I don’t know what you mean.” He answered calmly and not moving and inch.  
  
“I saw you!”  
  
Peter started to laugh and soon everyone joined him. With a bit of melancholy, Peter thought how much Gamora would be enjoying this.  
  
“Peter, can you help me?” Thor’s voice asked above the argument between Mantis and Drax, and Peter nodded and went by his side. “Can you put the baking sheet in the oven?”  
  
Peter picked the food and opened the door while Thor started to slice the poorly peeled potatoes. With care, he opened the oven and went to place their dinner inside it, but he touched the hot rack with his hand on carelessness. Quickly, he snatched his hand and hissed, closing the oven with a loud thump and took a look at the angry red spot on his skin.  
  
“Are you okay?” Thor asked leaving his task and turning to him in the blink of an eye.  
  
“Just a little burn, nothing to worry about.” Peter shrugged like it was nothing even if it hurt a lot.  
  
“Come here, I have an ointment.” Thor took his burnt hand and carried him into the bathroom, leaving behind Mantis and Drax, who were too busy to notice their absence.  
  
When they arrived, Thor opened the medicine cabinet and searched for the ointment while Peter opened the faucet on the cold water and putted his hand under it, easing the pain.  
  
And then he realized it was the perfect moment to give Thor his present.  
  
“Thank you.” Peter said drying his hand carefully for Thor to apply the ointment on the burn. “I…” He felt his stomach doing funny jumps and Thor’s hand touching his wasn’t helping at all. “I have a present for you.”  
  
Thor looked at him with surprised curiosity when he pulled the USB out of his pocket and offered it to him.  
  
“You can check what’s inside tomorrow when Mantis and Drax leave, okay?”  
  
After cleaning the remainders of the ointment out of his hand, Thor picked the USB and placed it on his pocket. Then, suddenly, Thor hugged him.  
  
“Thank you, I’m sure it’s a wonderful present.” Peter giggled nervously and patted his back, returning the hug. He felt warm on his arms and it was too much good for him.  
  
“It’s nothing.” He had to be cool, to conceal his nervousness.  
  
The hug ended and they reluctantly stopped touching and went back to the kitchen, where Mantis and Drax were still on their own world.  


  
…  


  
Peter inhaled deeply when he got up that Christmas morning, satisfied for the amazing dinner and the great dream he just had as if it was a present. The sound of laughter and the voices of his friends hurried him out of the bed with a happy smile.  
  
“Finally, Peter!” Mantis exclaimed at him when he got out his bedroom. “We’ve been waiting for you to open the presents!”  
  
“I’m here now, so c’mon.” He skipped the delicious looking pancakes on the countertop and sat down by the tree straightaway, his smile growing bigger with each passing second.  
  
He picked one of the presents that had his name on it, probably from Drax given the handwriting.  
  
“Yes! Open my presents first! You are going to love it!” Drax pointed excitedly at the presents with a childish laugh.  
  
Peter flipped the small present and ripped the wrapping to discover a framed photo of Rocket cuddling with one of his shirts on the couch. Although it was really cute and Peter appreciated it, he could only think _“Oh fuck, I got him a photo of Rocket too”_.  
  
“Thank you, man.” Peter smiled at him and Drax nodded, obviously proud of himself.  
  
Mantis had received cologne that smelled really nice and Thor was flipping through his new book of Norse mythos.  
  
The next presents they pick are from Thor, who had a smug smirk. Peter looked from the soft present to Thor with suspicion. He waited for someone else to open the wrapping and Drax was the first one to look at an ugly Christmas sweater before start laughing boisterously. It had the face of one of his favorite WWE fighters on it.  
  
Mantis, with care, opened hers to see another Christmas sweater but with the drawing of a praying mantis on it. The surprised face she made was one to remember, then she giggled softly.  
  
“It’s great.”  
  
Thor smiled and looked at him, waiting. Peter gulped, what would be on his sweater? He slowly ripped the wrapping to see all of their faces on the sweater. Mantis, Natasha, Thor, Drax… He couldn’t help but laugh.  
  
“What the hell, Thor?” He putted on the sweater on top of his pajama between laughs. “It’s… really original.”  
  
“I knew you would like it!”  
  
“I think like is an overstatement, but I’ll wear it for now.” He teased and caressed the fabric of the sweater, noticing it was soft.  
  
Then, they opened Mantis presents. Peter got a CD of one of his favorite bands, Drax got a weight and Thor opened a box of rare beers. She surely knew what to give as a present.  
  
Peter looked how they picked his presents. Thor seemed surprised to see one waiting for him under the tree, and Peter supposed it was because of the USB. He chewed the inside of his cheeks remembering the songs on it.  
  
“Great minds think alike, uh?” Drax said looking at the photo of Rocket, and Peter could only nod guilty.  
  
Mantis seemed happy with her new makeup set. He knew she needed a new one. Peter then looked at Thor stunned face, who was staring at the snake pillow on his arms.  
  
“That’s because of that story of your brother and the snake you told me.” Peter felt the urge to explain himself. “I thought it would be funny.” He was getting nervous because of the lack of response he was receiving from Thor, until he wrapped the long pillow on his neck.  
  
“It’s perfect, Peter.” He told him with a soft voice.  
  
With a tiny smile and warmth in his heart, Peter got up and decided it was time to get breakfast.  


  
…  


  
They said goodbye to Mantis and Drax when they left to their own home, and as soon as they closed the apartment door, Thor was running to his bedroom.  
  
“I’m going to check your USB!”  
  
And with that, Peter also ran to his bedroom but for different reasons.  
  
Seconds seemed minutes and minutes seemed hours to Peter, who was pacing around in his room, fidgeting with everything. What if Thor didn’t like the songs? What if it was too much? What if it was too obvious? The questions swirled on his head even if he reminded himself to act cool. He checked his clock for the thirtieth time in forty minutes. The music must be finishing by now. Thor must be going to his bedroom right now to tell him he didn’t like it.  
  
Peter was freaking out when a gentle knock was heard on his door. He inhaled deeply.  
  
“Okay, act cool, Peter. You are cool.” He muttered quietly to give himself courage.  
  
With a bit of hesitation, he opened the door.  
  
There was Thor with a giant smile and Peter felt a wave of relieve hit him. Then, Thor suddenly hugged him so strong he nearly chocked.  
  
“You are the best best friend I ever had, Peter!” He exclaimed with fondness in his voice and Peter felt his cheeks flush, so he hid his face on the hug. “I loved every song. And you don’t have to thank me for letting you here. You’re more than welcomed.”  
  
Slowly, Thor broke the hug and looked at him. Peter could see his eyes shining and he was getting lost on them.  
  
“Now I have to get you another great present to make up for this one.”  
  
“You don’t have to.” He muttered without really thinking about it, he was too focused on him to think about his own words.  
  
“I insist! What do you want me to buy you?”  
  
“Well…” He leaned on the door frame without looking away from him. “I want something. But you can’t buy it.”  
  
“What is it?” Thor’s eyes shifted with curiosity and Peter liked that new shine too.  
  
“It’s… you know.” Peter’s words rolled out of his tongue. “If I say it it’s not funny. You have to guess it. A clue: it’s in front of me right now.” He said without thinking, but the he thought about it and he felt a bit of panic on the bottom of his stomach.  
  
“Do you want…” His voice was hesitant and he turned to get ideas. “A Christmas tree? But we already have one.”  
  
Peter rolled his eyes, how could someone not get what he meant? But it was better that way. He should pay more attention. He couldn’t hit on Thor. He wasn’t gay. He only wanted him as a friend.  
  
“Nevermind. I have everything I want.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing of great importance happened I think, but in the next chapter it's going to happen  
> Also I promise next chapter is going to be updated sooner


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry.  
> I have no excuse.

Peter was happy. How could it be otherwise? He had his headphones on full blast and the warm sweater he received from Thor. Even if he was cleaning the mess they all made on the holidays, the sun was warming him through the window and it lightened the room in a nice way.  
  
He looked around him, sweeping the floor with the broom at the rhythm of the song: one step to the right, one to the left, a small jump and repeat. Soon, he closed his eyes and started dancing with the broom. He swirled around the stick with a smooth move, singing to the lyrics. He felt the renewed energy on him and he needed to move, unaware of his surroundings.  
  
Another turn and he opened his eyes. In front of him there was Thor with a wide smile and a pink nose, still cold from his trip to the grocery shop. He stopped dead on his tracks and gaped in embarrassment, his eyes darting between Thor’s and the broom. He hadn’t heard the door. Just before he could articulate any word to ask how long had he stood there watching, Thor started to move to an inaudible rhythm. He swayed lightly where he stood, his eyes with a playful spark and his smile growing. Peter didn’t know how to feel at first, the embarrassment still playing on his stomach, but sooner than later he laughed and unplugged his headphones from his phone, the music coming out of the speakers now, allowing to them both to dance to the same song. The broom was left forgotten on the wall and Peter grabbed Thor’s hand and carried him to the living room, where they would have more space. However, once there, Thor didn’t let his hand go and he gave him a twirl instead and Peter didn’t mind it, just letting himself go with the dance.  
  
That song ended, but another one followed and they continued to dance, their hands never parting away. They got closer with a quick move, then they separated achingly slow. Peter did awesome tricks with his feet and Thor tried to emulate him, failing but never losing his smile, because he didn’t care about the dancing. He only cared about the flips his heart did and the way Peter intertwined their fingers to keep a better balance. He only cared about how light and joyful his laughter sounded when he had a misstep and they pulled closer.  
  
They didn’t say anything, and there wasn’t any need to do so. They only heard the music and their laughter. Minutes passed, songs died before another took their place, and a slow song popped out. They stopped their energetic movements and looked to each other, recovering their shaky breaths.  
  
“I…” Peter started talking, and Thor couldn’t help but notice how his tongue slipped to lick his lips. “I don’t know what’s doing this song on this playlist.”  
  
Thor chuckled. He couldn’t care less about why that song was in that playlist. Slowly, he lifted his free hand and surrounded Peter’s waist with his arm. He felt the softness of the sweater and the warmth radiating from his body. Then, Peter unconsciously rested a bit on his arm, adding a grounding weight that Thor decided was one of the best feelings that could exist. They were there, together. Even if they were only friends and that left a bitter taste on his heart, Thor decided he would cherish any moment he could, and this one, with Peter’s smile and hands on him was one he would never let go.  
  
“I finally got to dance with you, like we said on Halloween.” Thor said, his deep voice flooding Peter’s brain with electricity.  
  
Peter looked fleetingly between Thor’s eyes and his arm surrounding him. Having this much attention on him felt… nice. His heart was beating even faster than when they were dancing, his mouth went dry and his face flooded with warmth. The soft melody of the song was like an enchantment. He could smell faintly the fresh shampoo Thor used from the near distance they kept. His senses were going on an overdrive. He couldn’t think straight.  
  
Was this what he wanted to happen? Was Thor feeling the same things as him? Was everything his overly active imagination doing tricks on him? But the fact that Thor’s hand was rubbing his back on slow motion was true. The caring look on his eyes was true. He just… couldn’t. Nervousness sat at the bottom of his heart. _‘I’m straight’_ , he repeated to himself as a mantra, even if himself didn’t believed it truly.  
  
A loud beep interrupted the song and awakened both boys from their embrace. Thor quickly let Peter go, hiding one arm behind his back and coughing awkwardly into the other on while taking a step back but already missing their closeness. Peter took another step back but focusing all of his attention on his phone. He stopped the music and checked the notification. It was a message from T’Challa, asking if they wanted to go to the party his sister and he celebrated for New Year’s Eve. It seemed their parents were on a trip again and they liked how the Halloween party went. Peter read out loud the message for Thor to hear, who gazed him slightly with curiosity.  
  
“It sounds great. Are we going?” When did they start to think of themselves as a pack? Peter looked at him and nodded.  
  
“Yeah, why not?” He looked down to the phone again, feeling the uncomfortable stare of Thor on him. “I should finish cleaning.” Without hesitance, he picked the broom from the wall and started to sweep the floor once again.  
  
Thor just nodded, picked the groceries he had left besides the door and putted them on the places they should be, and then he disappeared behind the door to his room.  
Both of them sighed at the same time in different places, and with different thoughts running through their heads. 

  
…  


  
The 31st of December finally came and Peter was driving to T’Challa’s house with Drax, Mantis and Thor. It was a really cold night and the wind was freezing, but hopefully the inside of the manor will be warm and full of life. And it surely was. Peter parked on a street full of cars in front of the party. It was busting with noise and even the front yard was filled with people.  
  
“There is even more people than on Halloween…” Mantis muttered, feeling suddenly too nervous for the party. They were just trying to get inside and it was already difficult to walk.  
  
“Don´t worry. I’m sure T’Challa would help anyone if they get overwhelmed.” Thor smiled at her while rubbing her arm with sympathy. She just nodded.  
  
“We have to try and not split!” Peter said with a little smile on his face while looking at his friends, but Drax laughed as he slowly got away. “Drax! Why are you doing this?!”  
  
He could hear him still laughing, but he got lost in the crowd once they got inside the house.  
  
“I think I’m going to talk with Shuri, if I find her. Have fun!” Mantis said before disappearing in the crowd too.  
  
“Why are they like this?” Peter sighed, but fondness laced his words “It’s like they only do this to get on my nerves!” It made Thor smile.  
  
“Don’t worry, I’m still here.” Peter looked up to him and shook his head with a smirk.  
  
“Yeah, I know. I couldn’t get rid of you even if I wanted.” Peter punched his shoulder jokingly, Thor smile just widened. “Let’s get some beer and dance a bit.”  
  
Said and done. There they were, in the improvised dancing room, both of them with a beer can in their hands and trying to dance in the middle of the already dancing crowd. Peter looked up to Thor for a second and saw him being bathed by the multicolor lights. Red, blue, green, yellow… It didn’t matter what color happened to be dancing on his face that moment, he could swear every one of them suited him. He stopped looking to finish his beer can before leaving it somewhere, and looked at the crowd, searching for some familiar faces to ignore the nervousness that settled on his stomach. However, there was no one that seemed familiar enough to try to start a conversation up without it being weird. But what he saw were more and more people coming into the room, taking small steps he found himself chest to chest with Thor. His breath hitched when someone bumped into him and pushed him into his arms. Thor laughed, or so Peter supposed when he felt the rumbling of his chest, the music too loud to hear the sound. He looked up to him again, and saw his blinding smile and felt some hands fleeting on his hips.  
  
_”Is this okay?”_ Thor mouthed to him, and he nodded without even thinking.  
  
The soft caresses became a soft grip on him and then he swayed as Thor did, letting himself go to the rhythm and his warm hands. _‘Too close, we are too close’_. His rational mind told him, but his hands went softly from Thor’s ones to his arms, feeling every inch of skin under the clothes. He could feel a foolish smile on his lips and maybe it was there because Thor infected him with his own. Peter’s hands travelled once again, but this time he stopped at his waist, and pressed himself even more against Thor’s body. If anyone asked, he would say someone bumped into his back again, but it would be a lie. Thor caressed his hips with his thumbs and he felt too hot. They moved against each other, nearly every part of their bodies touching. That’s when Thor gently turned him around, this time having Peter’s back against his chest.  
  
Peter was so cute and so hot at the same time that Thor didn’t know what to think. He fought the urge to move his hands more than it was necessary. Peter turned slightly, looked at him with a smile and a subtle blush on his face that was melting his heart. Moving along with the music, he moved their hips at the same time. He could feel Peter’s every muscle move and it was driving him crazy.  
  
Peter couldn’t believe what was happening. When he looked to the front he felt Thor’s beard against his neck, softly tickling him. He was having a heart attack, or what’s worse, he felt a boner nearly tenting his pants. Thor was going to be his death. Panicking a bit, Peter turned slightly to be able to talk to Thor, his breath ghosting against Thor’s ear and making him shiver.  
  
“I have to go to the bathroom! I’ll come back!” Thor pouted at him and if he hadn’t had a little problem down there he would stay. He couldn’t risk Thor seeing him like this. Peter took his hands and slowly Thor let him go. Peter disappeared in the crowd and he left Thor feeling disappointed and worried. Had he gone too far? Maybe he made him uncomfortable. But he said he would return, so he would wait trying to take his racing heart under control.

  
…  


  
When Peter finally arrived to one of the bathrooms on that maze of a house, he locked himself in. Sitting on the toilet, he rubbed his eyes, incredulous. What the fuck had happened back there? He looked down to the visibly bulge on his pants, then closed his eyes in shame. _’Okay. Don’t freak out Peter. You, a completely heterosexual guy just popped a boner dancing with one of your best friends. It’s cool. Absolutely straight, you champ.’_ Peter groaned, remembering how being pressed against Thor felt, how his heart speed up and how he was dying to get back there. _’Maybe I should stop lying to myself, fuck. Who do I try to fool?’_ Now he sighed, he shouldn’t feel like this about his friend. But he did. He looked to his problem again. _‘I repeated to myself that Thor’s probably straight too, but he… He nearly kissed my neck. I…’_ He shivered remembering his hot breath on his neck and the sensation of his beard scratching his skin the perfect way. How unfair.  
  
The music reached softly even there, Peter realized as he closed his eyes once again. His hands traveled down his pants and he heard his zipper too. If he wanted to come back soon, he should take care of it, right? He couldn’t show up to him like this. He bit his lip, picturing Thor’s stupid smile on his mind.

  
…  


  
Thor was fumbling with his hands nervous while talking with Clint in the kitchen. Midnight was getting closer as time passed and Peter had left for twenty minutes now. Maybe he really made him upset.  
  
“And Laura, she is…” Clint frowned at him “Hey, you are not listening to me, dude.”  
  
“I do!” Clint stared at him, knowing better “… I’m sorry.”  
  
“Are you thinking about your boyfriend?”  
  
“For the last time, he’s not my boyfriend.” The smile Clint was giving him annoyed the shit out of Thor.  
  
“Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that.” Thor groaned at the exaggerated eyebrow wiggling his friend was giving him. “Hey, look. There he is!”  
  
And like Clint said, Thor saw Peter looking for him, entering the kitchen. He saw how his face lighted when Peter finally spotted them, to suddenly avert his gaze to the floor, a shy smile on his lips.  
  
“Look at him, all excited to see you again. How cute.” Clint’s teasing words could only be heard by Thor and he shook his head. It wasn’t like that, he was sure.  
Thor waved his hand to him, encouraging him to come by their side, and Peter complied. His smile changed from the shy one to a confident one, trying to mask his nervousness, but Thor could see through it.  
  
“Good to see you, Peter.” Clint said before anyone else could talk “What were you doing leaving Thor alone for so long? When I saw him he was just pacing around looking at his phone, waiting desperately for you.”  
  
“Clint!” Thor crossed his arms in a defensive way, not believing he was being showed up like that by his supposedly friend. He heard Peter chuckle and he felt the embarrassment settling on his cheeks.  
  
“Sorry about that. This house is just too big.” Peter justified himself, trying not to think about the true reason he was away for so long.  
  
“It sure is! I’m going to look for Nat. I’m leaving you two lovebirds alone!” They watched him leave in silence when Thor glanced at Peter, shy and worried about what had happened before.  
  
“Lovebirds, huh?” Peter muttered under his breath, but loud enough for Thor to hear, being the kitchen quieter than any other place. Thor’s heart skipped a beat when Peter looked at him with a small content smile. “Fucking Clint.”  
  
Maybe, Peter wasn't really upset with him.  
  
“Yes, indeed.”

  
…  


  
Everyone was crowded around the giant TV that was on the main room. It was nearly midnight already and there they were, Peter and Thor looking at the countdown displayed on the screen. Peter was pressed tightly to Thor once again, and a strange excitement on his heart was making him forget they were surrounded by other people. A bell chimed through the TV an everyone started shouting the numbers.  
  
_12!_  
  
_11!_  
  
He looked up to Thor, who had been looking down at him for god’s know how long, entranced by his excited smile and beautiful eyes.  
  
_10!_  
  
_9!_  
  
Peter’s right arm slowly circled around Thor’s shoulders, eyes never leaving each other’s.  
  
_8!_  
  
_7!_  
  
Thor’s smile grew and so did the rate of his heart. Before he could realize it, he had Peter in a soft embrace, his arms on his waist, getting closer to each other inch by inch.  
  
_6!_  
  
_5!_  
  
They were drowned by the cheers and the happiness surrounding them. The warmth of everyone and, more important, their warmth, was like a blanket. They could spend a lifetime like this. Peter’s another arm ended on Thor’s shoulders too.  
  
_4!_  
  
_3!_  
  
One of Thor’s arms left Peter’s waist, but before he could felt the disappointment of the loss, a hand rested on his cheek. He inevitably giggled and tilted his head, welcoming the touch. Thor had never felt this happy before.  
  
_2!_  
  
_1!_  
  
Their faces inched closer, painfully slow. The feeling of each other’s breaths tickling their lips, the half-lidded eyes, Thor’s hand gently cupping Peter’s face, Peter’s arms pulling Thor closer…  
  
_Happy Ne- **BANG!** _  
  
Woke up from the loud sound, they looked at the now screaming crowd. Everyone was running for the entrance, not caring who they had to push to be the first to exit the house. Peter felt the strong hands of Thor taking him by his arms, the soft look he had before shifted into one of horror.  
  
_**BANG! BANG!**_  
  
With another loud sound, he felt the dread on his bones. Was that a gun shot? He tried to say something, but he couldn’t. Thor pushed him softly forward and he went along, numb.  
  
It was hard getting out with all the people scattering around and pushing everyone, but what waited for them outside was something they could hardly forget.  
  
Surrounded by a crowd, there were three persons lying on the ground. And they recognized two of them. Peter fell into his knees.  
  
There, with their clothes soaked in red, were Mantis and Drax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just saw Endgame so motivation came back to me, and here we are.


End file.
